Olivier Giroud is wasting his talents at Arsenal as an impact sub according to football pundit Jamie Redknapp.

When Arsenal played Leicester in Friday’s Premier League opener, they were forced into a corner thanks to two goals from Jamie Vardy on top of Shinji Okazaki’s opener.

The Gunners called on Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey to save them, and the two players answered the call, successfully turning defeat into victory with their goals.

The difference between the two is that when Ramsey is fully fit, he will surely be a guaranteed starter alongside Granit Xhaka. Whereas Giroud is unsure of a starting place against Stoke than he was on Friday night.

Jamie Redknapp told Daily Mail that this is a waste of Olivier’s talents, saying: “Giroud is too good to be an impact man from the bench.

“He is behind Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez and Arsene Wenger has a job on his hands to keep all his strikers happy. Giroud can remain a supersub but it’s a waste of his talents.”

While it’s no surprise to hear pundits talk about wasted talent after only one Premier League game, it will be frustrating to Arsenal fans to hear Giroud spoken about in this way.

After years of hearing that the Frenchman wasn’t good enough to win Arsenal the Premier League title, now suddenly he’s too good for a bench position.

Arsène Wenger certainly does have a job to do to keep all his strikers happy, but so should any manager of a big club. It’s better than having one striker you need to pigeonhole into every situation.

Lacazette and Giroud showed on Friday why it can be such a positive thing to have both in the squad. They showed their individual talents and also how they can work together when required.

As long as Olivier Giroud is happy, Jamie Redknapp’s opinion is largely irrelevant.