Arsene Wenger Finds Winning Formula in Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud Partnership

Ever since Olivier Giroud returned to full training, there has been intense debate about which of he and Danny Welbeck would emerge as Arsenal’s first-choice striker. In the victory over West Bromwich Albion, Arsene Wenger found a way to include both. 

Wenger named a very attacking line-up, with Giroud, Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez all in the starting XI. The formation was effectively a 4-3-3, with Giroud providing a focal point as the centre-forward and Alexis and Welbeck working the channels on either side.

It was a bold strategy from the Arsenal boss. Including three players who would all class themselves as strikers is an unusually top-heavy approach. However, Welbeck and Alexis are not penalty-box poachers: They have great stamina and work rate and drop in to offer the midfield support when required. 

That gave Arsenal a surprisingly balanced look. The link play between Giroud and Welbeck was promising. Even if the Frenchman is not blessed with Welbeck’s speed of foot, he has great speed of thought. As the game wore on, there were signs of a growing understanding between the two forwards.

Arsenal’s trio of attackers provided a significant threat on the counter, but they couldn’t quite find the necessary final ball or finish to give them a first-half lead.

When the goal did eventually come, it was courtesy of Arsenal’s best player on the day: Santi Cazorla. Cazorla has been an immediate beneficiary of Jack Wilshere’s injury, as it has allowed him to move in to his preferred central role. The results have been excellent: Cazorla has been credited with the assist for all three of Arsenal’s goals in the two games since he switched position. 

In this instance, he skipped to the byline and lifted an excellent cross in to the penalty area. Welbeck, ostensibly playing on the right wing at the time, drifted into the box and leapt high to power his header beyond Ben Foster. 

It was a striker’s goal from a man tasked with playing on the wing. Welbeck is on record expressing his desire to play through the middle, but at The Hawthorns he showed he has the intelligent movement required to get into goalscoring positions wherever he is stationed. 

Speaking to the BBC after the game, Welbeck seemed satisfied with the result. Showing typical selflessness, he spoke about the team’s clean sheet rather than his goal. 

We always believe we will score goals, so if we get a clean sheet we feel we'll win the game. It was a vital three points for us today.

The manager's got a lot of options going forward, so once we're on the pitch we've got to give 100 per cent for Arsenal.

If Arsenal persist with this system, Welbeck may discover that his closest competition doesn’t come from Olivier Giroud but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott. This kind of mobile rotating front three seems particularly suited to Walcott’s incisive running and smart finishing. 

If Welbeck wants to keep his place in Arsenal’s starting XI, he will need to score big goals like the one which saw off West Brom more regularly.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.