How about Ollie G and that goal last night, eh?

I don’t usually bother with international football, but given that one match was distilled in to two brilliant moments for Arsenal fans – a great strike from our centre forward and a total howler from the Spurs keeper, I was happy to see my Twitter timeline filled up with varying angles of both incidents.

One great touch and then a swing of his left peg and Ollie G is showing the world that despite the megabucks being offered for an 18-year-old usurper to his throne, he can still be viewed as a very effective striker on his day.

I like this kind of Giroud. The kind that can show he’s capable of good things. The kind that when under pressure for his position – Mbappe, Benzema et al all fighting for a position up top – he delivers results like yesterday. Ultimately it didn’t help his team thanks to Loris, but I don’t really give a monkeys about that, more that we have a player who Arsene will not sell and will most certainly be encouraging to prove his worth by demonstrating that when his position is under threat he can come up with the goods.

I think Giroud is a funny one you know. He blows very hot or very cold. Always has done for us. But when I think he’s at his best is when he is unsure of his future. As an impact sub he has demonstrated that he can deliver and I feel like the times at which he’s been on a hot streak have usually been when he’s had somebody else – like Alexis – in his position and so he feels like he needs to make the most of his time on the pitch.

That’s why a top-drawer signing needs to happen this summer up front. Not just to give us a better option, but also to bring the best out of the Frenchman, encouraging him to play better and be more consistent over a length of time.

One person he won’t have to worry about is Sanogo, who has officially now been released and I think I speak for plenty of people when I say: thanks for Dortmund at home. That’s pretty much it. It was a punt by Wenger, it didn’t work out, we paid a bit too much in wages, and now he’s gone.

Back to Ollie though and I do wonder how he will react to a possible new signing. In some ays the Mbappe transfer would be good for him. He’ll know that Mbappe will probably start, but he’ll probably still feel like he can compete with a young kid to offer something different when the manager needs it. If we had somebody else who would choose a side based on the weaknesses of the opposition he’d probably feel confident that he’d get more game time, but under Wenger he’ll know that it’s unlikely, which I wonder if it will make him have itchy feet come January. Of course all of this is easy to say because we’re making the assumption that the Arsenal transfer team actually do their jobs, where as they haven’t really for the last few years, so I’m sort of jumping the gun a bit I know.

If somebody like an Aubameyang (I know – ‘ha!’ – right?) came in, he’d probably feel a little different, but it doesn’t look like Arsenal are sniffing around him unfortunately. A proven person at 26 to 28 years old would probably have him knocking on the managers door, but despite the recent protestations that he needs to play more, I don’t see Arsene budging. Like the Bellerin situation, Arsenal have too many other things to worry about this summer and so players who have recently signed deals aren’t exactly going to be top of the priority list when it comes to discussing their futures. So I suspect we’ll hear little from Giroud now until a striker has been signed and he’s been asked a few questions whilst back in France.

Right, that’s pretty much it from me, so have a good weekend and if you’re in the UK, enjoy a bit of sun.

Peace out.