Southampton 1-1 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points

#1 Wait, why doesn't Olivier Giroud start?

What more does he have to do, to break into the first team?

Yes, I know he's Arsenal's super sub. That doesn't mean I understand it. Arsenal's Puskas award-winning striker has rescued them more often than Batman has rescued Gotham.

Last season, he played 1,206 minutes of Premier League football and scored 12 goals. I'd love to talk in terms of games, but Giroud doesn't play too many full ones, does he?

For context, consider this: Mesut Ozil played 2,841 minutes and scored 8. Yes, I'm aware that Ozil's a playmaking midfielder and not a forward. Fair enough. In terms of assists, Ozil notched 11, while Giroud notched 5. Meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez played 3,217 minutes and scored 24 goals.

I'm no mathematician, but he certainly seems to have outdone both, Ozil and Sanchez, in terms of rate of scoring. This season, Giroud has 4 goals from 253 minutes, as compared to Ozil's 2 from 1010 minutes and Sanchez's 4 from 974.

As an extension of #3, why does Aaron Ramsey have to be the top shot-taker, when Olivier Giroud is decorating the bench? What more does Olivier Giroud need to do, to break into Arsene Wenger's first team?

Stats from premierleague.com and WhoScored