Giroud vs Van Persie: Comparing The Strikers Ahead Of Sunday's Clash

Last season Robin van Persie fired his way to the top of the Premier League scorers list and sent a massive two fingers to Arsenal. His decision to switch to Old Trafford was frowned upon by many but he was rewarded with a Premier League winners medal and the golden boot.

While Arsenal went about finding a goal-getter of their own this summer Olivier Giroud has started fantastically, so let's take a look at which of the forwards has started the brighter. ahead of the clash between the two clubs this Sunday.

The Manchester United man has scored the more goals in the league this term despite playing one less game - six goals in nine games -than Giroud - five goals in 10 games - but the Arsenal man has been far more creative.

Giroud has so far made 17 key passes and claimed four assists, while van Persie has made just five.

The Frenchman has also won a bigger percentage of his duels (53%) than van Persie (41%) but the latter has been more accurate in his shooting. The Dutchman has hit the target with 13 of his 25 shots (52%) while 12 of Giroud's 29 (41%) have tested the keeper.

Both forward excel in different aspects of the game and are both fine players, but the scary thing is it doesn't seem as though they have hit top form yet.

I await Sunday's game with the utmost anticipation.

statistics via Squawka