Olivier Giroud insists he wants to stay at Arsenal for the duration of his contract and waved away suggestions he could return to France in the summer.
The striker, who now has 20 goals to his name this season, had been tipped to quit the Emirates after ‘complications’ in his private life saw him garnering front rather than back page headlines. However, eager to draw a line under such nonsense, he’s gone on record to say he’d be open to extending his time in London.
“Could I extend my contract? Why not?” Giroud told TF1 (translated by ESPN.co.uk). “You shouldn’t listen to that [stories in the papers]. A lot of things were said. I’m still happy in London and with Arsenal and think I will be in the future.
“I have a contract until 2016 and I’m an Arsenal player. I want to be here next season, at least that’s my will.”
The French international also touched on his recent strike against West Ham United where a faultless first touch following a long ball by teammate Thomas Vermaelen afforded him the opportunity to smash home at close range.
“I was ribbed about it. People told me it was a goal a la Dennis Bergkamp, which was a nice compliment,” said Giroud.
“There’s everything I like in that goal: the positioning, the use of your body to open up the space and following that up with a good touch; because for a striker, it’s good touch that makes the difference in the penalty area. So that’s good, it shows I have moral resources and that’s good for the team.”
Interestingly, he also highlighted the importance of Champions League football claiming qualification for Europe’s premiere competition is arguably more significant than winning the FA Cup.
“We’ve got a bit of serenity back with regards to fourth. I would say the main objective is to finish fourth – we know that the Champions League is a vital objective for the club. We’ve played in it for the last 16 years and I don’t want to be part of the team that misses out. But the FA Cup final is also very, very important for the club.”
While Giroud has certainly had his critics this season his goal tally and assists record (he has 8 this year) prove that he’s pulled his weight as the lone striker.
Arseblog News isn’t aware of many fans wanting him to be shipped out but it’s obvious he needs more support to ease the pressure on his broad, handsome shoulders. Let’s hope the board and manager find him a partner who can help him thrive.
Ahh Its a shame to see players seeing 4th as more important. Yes its more important for the club and manager, but as a player you wont tell your kids or grandkids about the time you scored the goal to take your team to 4th.
Hopefully he gets both, because the FA Cup will be a good achievement in all their careers
i think we’ll all still be telling our kids and grandkids about the lasagne that scored for the arsenal to take us to 4th, though… don’t know about the players, but i reckon we will never tire of it
Not a player you really want out of your squad, he needs support!
I think he could really thrive with a striker partner with 2 up top. Like Walcott, that hold up play and pace could be deadly. But what do i know, its not like im Le Prof..
I will probably be thumbed-dwon to Mordor for this, but we should really try to get Aguero.
He will complement Giroud perfectly. Aguero has the ability to be better than Suarez. His finishing is absolutely insane.
Yes, it may be difficult to get him. But let’s make them an offer they can’t refuse, a la Don Corleone.
*down
Dwon sounds like a Lord of the Rings character with Tourette’s
If you were the arsenal manager, how much would it take for you to sell Ramsey right now? Now consider the same situation at man city with aguero and compound it with the fact that they are so rich, they don’t need to sell even squad rotation players to generate income. How much will the offer be now that they can’t refuse ?
I would never sell him at this stage, 23 years old and hes a complete player, still much room for improvement at every aspect of his game, but hes just what every team needs in their midfield. So valuable to our squad!
I agree. But I’ve supported Wenger all along (even after the 6-0) and now he needs to make us dream again. Like Brendan.
I’ll probably never be in the Wenger out camp, but please Wenger, give us reason to dream again.
Also, let’s force them to make that decision. Let’s not make the decision for them (as in by not bidding, they don’t have to consider selling).
Bid. Make them uncomfortable. Bid again. Bid again.
Go in for the top players. They don’t come easy and they don’t come cheap.
I will probably be thumbed-dwon for this, but I think we should just get Messi and Ronaldo. They will both fit into our team nicely and are both proven quality players. While we are at it we should just get Zlatan because he is Zlatan.
I think it will only take about £500m which the club could make by increasing the Junior Gunner membership fee by 43.6%.
you sir are a funny man
Would be good with a top class striker who can threaten in behind defences. Imagine the damage that could be done with the likes of ozil feeding passes through. Could work well with Giroud as well and would give us multiple game plan options. Crossing fingers
I really don’t rate the guy as a first-choice striker but i”m not sure anyone does. But letting him go after nearly 2 seasons of teaching him how to play with the squad would make absolutely no sense. And the game that showed me his worth was the Everton game in the FA Cup when he came on as a sub. His type of game needs a remarkable amount of energy/effort and I could see what he could bring from the bench.
When we have a player with such good moral resources we should be doing everything we can to keep him. Moral resources are rare in football these days.
…and use of the body to open up spaces. Pushing off defenders and such things I mean. Ox does it too, no matter how short.
We need to build upon what we have. Not allow half-decent players to leave.
Even heard on the radio a few weeks back that an Everton supporter would love to have him at their club.
Some of the vitriol aimed at him has been utterly ridiculous.
Whether you love Giroud or not, may I ask why the opinion of an Everton supporting dude you heard once on the radio should matter to Arsenal Football Club?
If it was thousands of Bayern supporting fans, I would understand, but one Everton fan?
Nicklas bendtner would leave this summer so we can add a good striker to the department. Podolski and Giroud should not be sold. They both are very good players.
After the hotel romp i think that serves a fantastic ground on which contract talks can be established…..not to forget his poor conversion rate, my word! could be just the thing we need to mount a genuine title challenge next year. Yes he deserves no.1 striking role, shoe in infact.new contract please.
I’d love to hear more but I’m afraid I don’t speak Gibberish
That, kids, is why you shouldn’t take drugs.
i don’t mind him staying, but only as the second choice striker. Our priority must be a striker who is fast, has the ability to take on defenders and knows where the back of the net is.
Giroud is the ‘Plan B’ if Arsenal needs to change tactics, he is not a first choice for me, no. Not for a big club like Arsenal.
With the myriad of creative players we have, I hardly think our priority is a striker who can take on defenders. Weneger said he is tempted to play podolski up front in a 4-4-2 system but the lack of wide players forces him to play podolski(and i guess, Walcott too)from the wings. I think a combination of giroud/sanogo And Walcott/podolski would work very well in a 4-4-2 system. So we have to either get a lot of wide players, which I think won’t happen, or find a striker typical to a 4-2-3-1 system: someone who has decent pace, decent strength,… Read more »
Fatgooner satisfies the all-round criteria…and that’s all.
Good FOOTBALLING partner, you surely mean.
I would 100% take the FA Cup over Champions League qualification. I know everyone talks about the money, attracting the players etc. but winning a trophy would do so much more for this club in terms of getting that monkey off of our backs and creating a winning mentality. That taste of winning cannot be bought.
Also, a year out of the CL (incidentally which we will never win in our current state) could also do for us what it has done for other clubs.
COYG
Not sure why this has so many down votes. I think the problem with missing out on the UCL however would be that we’d be obliged to give the europa league a pretty good shot, and you’d have to fancy us to get to quite far, thus completely negating any chance of midweek rests. I honestly would rather we passed up the europa league altogether if didn’t get 4th – imagine what our season could be like focusing on the league with regard to keeping players fresh, which seems to have been (at least somewhat) our downfall this season. I… Read more »
And who are your major additions to a team without CL?
I think Giroud chose abit more curl to his hair rather than that extra bit of ability on the ball we need him to be having.
Such a Shame. Could have been many great stories to his name, built for the pl but just missing that aforementioned something.
You’re on great form today.
Tell me more please?
After years of 3 good players out and 3 new players in each summer – what we need is stability in the squad with players that aren’t good enough going and replaced with better players coming in. In other words, the reverse of the last few years. So those fans (and there are many on worldwide forums) who want Giroud out are wrong to do so. He is good enough to play for us – just not good enough to be relied on game-in-game-out. We’ve already seen the up-turn in his game after just a couple of games’ rest. But… Read more »
Oor Wullie what you on pal? ‘Moral resources’ ?! The fella cheats on his wife and as a consequence went missing for weeks when we needed him most. To me that’s showing sh*t morals at home and at work. Wenger tore him a new one for breaking club rules. He let us down BADLY when we needed him most.
No more morals than any other modern day footballer.
———- Joke ————->
Your Head.
As a super sub, definitely, first choice striker. No. Hey may have a tally of goals that look healthy, but he has a clean sheet against City, Chavs, and Utd. Only the one to Lpool as well.
And Everton in the FA Cup was his only high quality performance against a top 6 side. And that day he was surprise surprise a Sub.
Note : He has scored a couple against the Yidiots, but thats ignored cause Spurs are Shit.
There has to be another suarez , agero out there who can play off giroud. Eduardo could have been great for us in this team if he wasnt asualted out of the league.
Does there really? I didn’t know they were so common. Perhaps you can find one for us.
I dont know if there’s an Arsenal fan who loves this guy as much as I do. I wouldnt let him leave, maybe for £30m
Giroud is an off-the-bench impact striker. We have in the last two years played to his strengths often hitting the ball long so that he can hold it up. The problem with this, is that whilst it adds another dimension, Arsenal’s attack has always been more effective with someone running in behind. Playing Giroud up top has meant that teams are now tempted in to playing high-press against us. Walcott can’t be our only hope against a high press formation because what happens if he’s injured or marked out of the game as he so often is? The reality of… Read more »
Rubbish. Giroud is a workhorse, with a huge amount of stamina, rarely uninvolved in play, excellent defensively eg when facing set-pieces, a team player who’s as likely to be holding up the ball and laying it off to someone else as looking to score himself. Agreed, he’s no Aguerro, no Thierry Henry. He’s a different kind of striker altogether. Though he can do that fox-in-the-box stuff, that neat accurate finish from a good cross or through ball. I wouldn’t be surprised if, over two years that he’s been with us, a substantial number of his goals weren’t assisted by Poldolski… Read more »
After Death Run 2, I wanted Giroud out. But now I realise the poor bloke could barely walk. He’s a different type of striker from Thierry Henry. Even Henry would be knackered if he had to constantly leap four feet in the air PLUS play sumo wrestling against door-sized centre halves to boot. Whereas the Henry/Suarez/Aguero types could conceivably start all 38 league matches, considering the physicality of Giroud’s game to maintain his effectiveness, he should start no more than 25 or 30 games in all competitions during a single season. Giroud is at his best when he adds mobility… Read more »
Hope he stays , no point in bringing in a new striker and losing one, it leaves us weak up front again
It’s not Girouds fault that we did not buy a world class striker,i think he’done well as a lone striker who is not ‘world class’.
He threw in the ‘MORAL resources’ out of nowhere. Clever lad. Haha…
Qlivier must stay of course. He could bag 20 again next season in a more supporting role and throw in those great assists as well. We could really use a ~30 goal striker though. Look at Liverpool, that’s what’s pushed ’em. on.
I like Giroud, but I think everyone accepts that hes never going to be the 30+ goal a season striker that we so desperately need. Can you imagine what might have been if van Persie had decided to man up and stay with us, rather than forcing his way out? His goals won the Manc scum the league last year. Suarez would have been perfect last summer, but that ship has now sailed. We have the money to bring in someone world class, its just finding them, because the ones that are out there and well known are seemingly tied… Read more »
We need tall strong & most importantly fast & mobile striker who is clinical in front of goal & also can create something out of nothing much. Unfortunately it is not Giroud that posses these qualities. So need to buy one for next season.
Paraphrasing: “Tall, strong, fast, clinical, creative striker”.
Easy. One of those turned up in my pocket just now. And look! There’s another in that tree!!
If he could be a defensive shield for us at the same time that would be just dandy.
If one such striker did exist, he would be the Greatest Striker That Ever Lived…
Take away “tall” and he wears no. 14 for Man U — and will be available this summer . . .
And I meant to complement, not replace HFB. HFB is a world class footballer, just not a world class finisher. There are a dozen Chicharito types (including the man himself, obviously) who could be a mobile, clinical finishing partner for Giroud and his historically awful haircut.
How much credence is there actually to this “hotel romp” malarkey? I hear he had his photo taken with some trollop in the hotel bar/lobby and that was it. People go on about it all the time but I guess him shagging tarts is more interesting than him having posed innocently next to someone. The tabloids certainly love making up such stories. So how much truth is there to it? Other than that, lay off the guy. Lone striker, more or less, who has been run into the ground over the duration of a busy season. Team him up with… Read more »
He did it, it’s not in dispute.
The Dirty dog! Some are able to keep their pants on, others aren’t. At the end of the day it’s his problem.
Regardless of that, still not deserving of much of the flak thrown his way. Come next season with reinforcements I reckon he will be a very fine striker indeed.
He already is a very useful and important player for us.
Some people live in cloud cuckoo land. I refer you to nordin’s comment above.
So when he scores a hat trick next Monday everyone will stay to celebrate as we can’t go home because of a tube strike.
Fuking hell “I supported Wenger but(..) like Brendan”
Since when the fuck do we address opposition managers with first names ?Go support Brendan honey bun
Tall, fast, strong and creative striker..Benteke anyone? I know he’s done his knee in, but maybe next January? And if Real get Suarez, which I think they will, maybe Benzema will finally come! I think Benzema would be fantastic for us. Hey, a man can dream…
Good moral resources…… Interesting word choice there Giroud.
“Broad handsome shoulders”
Oh fucking dear.
What’s that all about Blogger?
Give the guy support not more dissing. The lone striker system has its shortcoming, especially against top teams with well organized defenses. It also doesn’t help matters that he isn’t naturally endowed with pace but Wenger knew that before signing him. Alongside a strike partner with pace it’s obvious he’ll score more goals. About the affair, I’m not sure footballers are famed for their moral purity, so ppl should cut him some slack since he has mended fences with his missus and come clean about his indiscretion.