While Arsenal fear the specialist’s verdict on Olivier Giroud’s ankle, the parable of “the greatest striker that ever lived” is a useful one to reflect on. That endearing phrase was the moniker attached to Nicklas Bendtner, who this time last year symbolised Arsenal’s inadequacies as they searched anxiously for a forward in the latter stages of the transfer window. On deadline day Bendtner, who knew he was no longer wanted at the Emirates, was spotted in the vicinity of Crystal Palace only to be summoned back to Arsenal as an emergency measure when all Arsène Wenger’s lines of inquiry for an alternative hit a brick wall.

They had been hunting all summer, with the efficiency of a big bad wolf with no teeth and a bout of chronic indecision. The fruitless quest took in a dalliance with Gonzalo Higuaín who ended up at Napoli, an infamous bid with an extra quid thrown in for Luis Suárez that made John W Henry inquire what they were smoking at Arsenal, and the painful experience of being led up the garden path by José Mourinho over a loan for Demba Ba that was never going to happen.

Yet there they were, on deadline day, sheepishly dialling Bendtner’s number. The moral of the story is: don’t leave yourself one injury away from a nightmare.

Wenger managed last season on the basis that Giroud’s fitness record was excellent and he did not usually suffer injuries. For three campaigns in a row (first with Robin van Persie in 2011-12 and thereafter with Giroud) he has taken a chance on his main striker, without any proven and convincing understudy – never mind competition – for the role of the attacking focus. Such a philosophy is an extraordinary gamble. It is one that looks particularly worrying as they prepare themselves for the possibility of several months without the only player on their books built to spearhead Wenger’s preferred system who has scored a goal for Arsenal in a competitive game.

Last season Giroud played most of the matches, nearly always for 90 minutes, and unsurprisingly at times looked a little jaded. For backup there was Yaya Sanogo (who was injured for half the season and had barely played any senior football in his career), and Bentdner with a handful of cameos. With the goals otherwise spread around the team, this was enough to finish in the top four and win the FA Cup but it never looked like enough to mount a sustained challenge in the Premier League or Champions League.

Going into this campaign with Giroud and Sanogo, who is still waiting to break his competitive duck, as the centre-forward options was again a risky strategy. It does not measure up at all compared to fellow members of the top four. Manchester City have set a high bar, with Stevan Jovetic now finding his Premier League feet and Sergio Agüero demonstrating customary ruthlessness against Liverpool, while Edin Dzeko and Álvaro Negredo will doubtless have chances to help themselves.

Liverpool have bid farewell to Luis Suárez but they have recruited Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert to augment the goalscoring instincts of Daniel Sturridge. Chelsea look to have found the missing piece of the jigsaw with Diego Costa, and have Didier Drogba up their sleeve. Fernando Torres (or if he goes, there will be a replacement) gives them three experienced leaders of the line to play with.

Wenger always talks an expansive game when he is questioned about the lack of striking cover. He mentions a wide-ranging list of players who could play up front but the problem is that list contains a lot of players who do not have the qualities that suit the gameplan like Giroud. He has been categorical about how Lukas Podolski is more of a wide man than a central attacker. Theo Walcott (still working his way back to fitness) has the experience of only a few cameos in the middle and does not necessarily have the physique to carry it off in difficult away games.

Joel Campbell has played most of his football wide. Alexis Sánchez, the most interesting option of all, may well be a fascinating alternative playing in a speedier way but, as was obvious in his half at Everton, he needs adaptation time to be the focal-point striker.

Giroud is potentially out until the New Year, so Wenger has to hit the transfer market and import the highest-quality talent he can afford, which may affect how much is left in the pot for his other targets (defensive midfield and centre-back). The alternative is to abandon his system and choose something which better suits the players at his disposal. Those on the list he says he can use as forwards may get more joy in a pair rather than battling alone. He might plump for a strikerless system to make use of his collection of false nines.

It seemed bizarre, and yet in some ways entirely typical, for Arsenal to lose a player in the manner they lost Giroud at Goodison Park last weekend. Approaching the 94th minute, near the corner flag, Sylvain Distin whacked the ball to clear it. It struck the Frenchman on his left ankle and he hopped about before tumbling down in pain.

How many footballers get injured by a football? Bad luck, maybe. Although good luck in that there is at least some time to address the situation – preferably without resorting to a Bendtner-esque barrel scrape – before the transfer window closes next week.