Switching Sanchez’s Position Can Make Giroud Better – Henry

Thierry Henry believes a change of position for Alexis Sanchez could be what Olivier Giroud needs in order to thrive at Arsenal.

Giroud has often come in for criticism from Arsenal supporters for his failure to perform in big games, leading to a section of the fanbase calling for a big-name striker to be signed this summer.
The France international has been linked with a move to Napoli as part of a deal to lure Gonzalo Higuain to Arsenal, while Jamie Vardy rejected Arsene Wenger’s men in order to stay with Leicester City.
But Henry thinks it is possible to improve the current Arsenal attack by getting more out of Giroud – who has failed to score more than 16 league goals in his four seasons at the club – by playing Sanchez closer to his much-maligned team-mate.
Henry told The Sun: “You can see that Giroud becomes a better player when he has people around him.
“Look how he played for France with Antoine Griezmann. He is very good when he can flick and hold up play – his link-up play is second to none – but he needs players around him making runs behind him.
“That’s the sort of quality they need. With Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil around they will always create chances. It’s not rocket science in terms of who they need. A striker needs to come in.
“Olivier Giroud has done well. He’s a good player but they need someone of the calibre of a Sergio Aguero or a Luis Suarez.
“They missed out on Suarez a few years ago. He would have been perfect for them and could have helped them go on to win the league.

“If they can get someone of that ilk then they could go on to challenge for the title next season.”
“When I see Sanchez play for Chile, he is up front, free. Not on the left, not on the right. That might be something. If Alexis can be used in and around Giroud, instead of being wide, both of them will benefit from that.”
Henry also feels Aaron Ramsey is best deployed in a central position, hailing his performances in the middle of the park for Wales at Euro 2016.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona forward continued: “You are always going to talk about Gareth Bale as he was outstanding, but for me Aaron Ramsey was as good, if not a bit better.
“He showed Arsene what he can do in midfield. Now we have Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, it is difficult when you want to be in the middle for Arsenal, but what was good for Aaron was that he showed everyone.
“Reading between the lines of what he says, he would prefer to be in the middle, but he will do a job on the right or wherever the boss asks him to play.
“That is great of him, but as a number 10 who runs beyond and everywhere, I just thought that he should have got more credit. He was as good as the other guys I saw in that tournament.
“Maybe he didn’t score the six goals that Griezmann scored but assists, goals, energy, defending, going forward – hopefully that can be good for Arsenal if he can come home and play the same way.”