Olivier Giroud has played down the extent of his ankle injury telling French television he hopes to be fit for Wednesday’s Champions League second-leg qualifier against Besiktas.
The striker was Arsenal’s hero against Everton when he came off the bench at half time to score a fine headed equaliser although his evening ended on a sour note when an injury-time Sylvain Distin clearance appeared to jar his ankle.
Speaking to Telefoot after the game, Giroud was calm about the situation stating: “I hope to be on the field Wednesday.”
With Alexis Sanchez still finding his feet in English football and Yaya Sanogo struggling with his own injury problems you suspect Arsene Wenger will be very eager to have his main attacker available for such a crunch tie. Let’s hope he doesn’t join Mikel Arteta on in the banjaxed ankle field hospital we’ve set up at London Colney.
In other news, Per Mertesacker says it was important to get 90 minutes under his belt against Everton and believes a draw was a great result given the way his teammates fought back from the brink of defeat.
The German World Cup winner replaced Laurent Koscielny in Arsene Wenger’s starting line-up and was handed the captain’s armband in Mikel Arteta’s absence as he made a dramatic return to first team action.
Speaking to Arsenal Player after the 2-2 draw the BFG said he and compatriot Mesut Ozil, who also completed the full game, were tired but pleased.
“At this stage of the season it was a good game. Now we have one game under our belts, we feel a bit tired but it’s vital for us.
“We need to get in our rhythm and it took a while at the start but I think we responded fantastically as a team in the second half.
“Overall we created much more in the second half and put the pressure on them all the time. That was very important for us, it doesn’t feel like a win but we showed great team spirit.
“It’s a great result for us. Last year we lost 3-0 and they were absolutely outstanding. We learnt a bit from that but in the first half our defensive movements let us down and we were a bit unfortunate with a few decisions but we left everything behind us and thought we have to play until the end.”
Nananana
Batman..
Everything is BATMAN!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTCHqMUBeoI&list=UUHCph-_jLba_9atyCZJPLQQ
Much better from Giroud against Everton – took his goal very well against a top 6 team too!
I think personally the game changed when we put Özil in No.10.
It’s amazing what a presence in the box can do. Ramsey was the only one in there for the first goal, Giroud the only one in there for the second.
On reflection I still believe yday is a gd point. Considering were knackered and could of easily have lost the point and confidence. Other top teams will struggle there this season especially with Barkley getting back fit. I gd win against besiktas and its a solid start to the season. Massive game. COYG
We hope so too. Also hope Poldi is included in the squad.
He can score. We’ll need that.
I ma heterosexual dude ,but I am sure he’s fit
Why are players supposed to be more tired than other teams?
Okay, the 3 Germans went the whole way in Brazil but we were talking about “tiredness” being a factor after the Palace and Besiktas games.
We did have a midweek game with lots of travelling involved. So at least for the Everton game to little preseason to build up fittness for the German contingent and having recently played might be a factor.
Love the new mobile site btw!
Where is the blog for today?
What are we paying him for????
We pay with
Mourinho’s tears
In terms of fighting spirit and giving his all to the badge, every single game, for me Giroud’s up there with the likes of Adams and Parlour.
Its funny, we’ve been complaining for years that we don’t have a big striker up top who gives his all for the cause and “puts himself about”
Now we have one, we complain he’s not fast enough.
I find it very difficult to criticize a man who tries as hard as Giroud, and who really plays for the shirt.
But I do agree in terms of pure goal returns he needs help and we need another option.
I believe Walcott will go a long way to remedy that. Not to mention a fully fit Sanchez firing on all cylinders.
And firing passes across the 6 yard line. Walcott and Giroud have done quite well with those in the past.
The problems in games where we lose the midfield battle both Giroud and Walcott are known to go missing. We need a striker who can produce a bit of magic to create half chances and score.
I’ve been refreshing on the http://arseblog.com page since 8:45.
Still am.
I still don’t know why is Giroud getting critics again because he missed some “good” chances. First chance was a volley, the hardest ball in the football. His run there was very good there. Second chance was a shot from outside penalty area from a tough positions. Both posts were covered. Then was a chance inside the penalty area, when Howard saved it. But Giroud couldn’t do much more there, because there was no space. His shoot was below the knee (i don’t know how you say that in English) and it hasn’t had much power. I think he was… Read more »
Is telefoot a tv channel specializing in foot injuries? Why tell them?
He is pivot of our attack. All the pace in the team now doesn’t seem to work without him on the pitch.
Get in, Olivier! Still have “what ifs” about that missed chance early on in the second half, but our forward play improved dramatically with him around the box. Great example of what he brings to the table for us, and a nice equaliser to boot 🙂
He is a strong lad,hopefully he will be fit on wednesday.
Sorry, I meant to thumb up but somehow it came as thumb down !!!!!
Come on Giroud, COYG !!!! We will win on Wednesday!
Wish ozil would defend more. Don’t agree with a lot of the ozil criticism but in terms of defensive work rate at times he’s right up there with arshavin hazard et al.
Found it interesting how BFG was the one pushing forward in the second half, as opposed to chambers. Guessing it was because of that first half he had.
Seems like Ozil is a guy who needs to do MINIMUM defending to get the best out of his attacking quality. Just always play him in the hole at the No 10 role and enjoy the show. At the WC he wasn’t terrible at the LW but he was much less effective there. I assume Wenger played him on the left wing because he didn’t want to drop Wilshere after all the criticism he got. on Wednesday play him as the no 10 with Giroud (if fit) in front of him, Sanchez at the RW, Cazorla at the LW and… Read more »
For Besiktas I like it. When Ramsey is back, Jack is out of luck unless we need a rotation. Nice selection problem for Wenger to have though.
He is fit.
Shabba.
Giroud is the best we’ve got. So he has to play every game. Sanchez, Walcott, Plodolski, Sanogoals….it’s all smokescreen bollocks, they can’t lead the line like he does. He is all we have and if he doesn’t play/start we’re toothless. If Wenger doesn’t buy a quality CF (Benzema would be perfect) all I expect is a very similar season to last.
I do hope he is fit and the Giroud of Everton shows up and not the one who played last week against Besiktas. He really changed the game against Everton and I was hugely impressed by him. I understand people saying that we need a ’20 goal a season’ striker, but I think we have a 20 goal player with us. Though he is not a striker, I think Aaron Ramsey can get 20+ strikes this season if he stays fit. If he has already scored 2 in 2 despite struggling overall, when our Welsh Jesus starts walking on water… Read more »
Main reason i think Giroud is not good enough to be our Main striker is because he only converts 13% of his chances, and he only perform Well against lesser teams defense. Top team defenders pocket Giroud to easily. And we allready beat the lesser teams before Girouds arrival, and he has not given us any mpre Edge vs the best teams whith whom we would like to compete. He is not at thr dame Level As Henry or Van Persie. Anf compared to the strikers of pretty much every other top team in Europe, he falls short. And all… Read more »
Lesser teams like Everton? Or do you mean City (CS)?
City, preseason friendly, and against Everton he was an impact sub, that came on and changed the game. And as I sid, I think he would he a great impact sub since his best performances have been off the bench for us.
My response got deleted for some reason. But in short in Real Madrid Özil had movement infront of him and notched 36 assists in his last season for them. And when we bought Özil Wenger said he wanted to build the team around him. But the link up especially between Özil -> Giroud is not working at all. The reason is because they dont complement eachother. And in the central line/spine of our team, players that complement eachother is very important in my opinion. And the games you refer to was a preseason friendly, and vs Everton he came on,… Read more »
Don’t mean to nitpick, but we lost those games defensively. Not a striker on earth scores 7 in a match.
And there is no movement in front of Ozil because our “runners” were out injured.
Ramsey and Walcott were our players for making runs behind defences. Carzola prefers to arrive late while Podolski lacks mobility.
But we have Sanchez and Campbell this season, and with Walcott returning, the team now have better balance and dynamics.
Wait a bit before you make the judgement. BFG and Ozil just had their first competitive game.
instead of just thumbing me down, it would be nice to know why you think Giroud is the right man to spearhead our attack and bring us back to the glory days 🙂 If we look at the 2 seasons Giroud have been with us he has never delivered in the big games vs the best teams. Good defenders allways neutralize him and take him out of the fight. Unlike Henry or Van Persie whom put the fear in any defender and was allways a goal threat against any defender or any team. And to compete with the big teams,… Read more »
On a Giroud post, I want to talk about the new striker experiment yesterday, and hear what you think. With Alexis Sanchez at the top of the formation, shouldn’t we be a team built for counterattacking? I think I am not alone (tell me if I am) in wondering what our tactics in the first half were, and how they were specifically formed to make sure Alexis has a chance to use his pace (make a run for a ball that Ramsey or Ozil or anyone might deliver into his path on the counter), or his vision (pick up the… Read more »
On a side-note, I love the Giroud goal celebration – Like a landing Airbus A380. Lovely!
An absolutely crucial game and one with invariable impact toward our end of window purchases : Our options up top are limited if Giroud does not play. I personally prefer the likes of Campbell up top. Alexis to me is too short and wasted in the position where he had more joy in tactical Spain. But the key area will be the area vacated by Ramsey. Whoever plays behind Giroud has to have sufficient discipline to assist both Jack and Flamini defending. Personally prefer Rosicky for experience and work rate. Out LW, I would not start Ozil. he is clearly… Read more »
If we beat Besiktas be it by pummeling them into submission or a narrow unconvincing win (I’ll take either), it will show us the way to the final chapter of the transfer window. 1) Whether we plump for a good for value Manolas or say someone more substantial (in both price and capability) like Subotic will be dependent (particularly with the later), on qualification. 2) Cback aside, we will then have to balance out whether we take on a Khedira (not just any DM) or maybe another striking option (if available). I think both these areas are secondary to Cback… Read more »
…………………………..Giroud (Campbell)………………………….. santi…………………………Jack…………………………………Alexis ……………..Rosicky………………..Flamini………………………….. Alexis is best off RW. Chamberlain is another option for Santi Ozil can come in later for Jack when/if we establish ascendancy. In which case Jack can drop next to Flamini should Rosicky tire (or maybe Diaby will put in an odd 5 minute showing or more likely we can also push Chambers up for last 10 minutes should we have our first choice Cback pairing still ticking away) Campbell is an option right up top. he did it to great effect for Costa Rica, he should be able to perform so for us. he is… Read more »
@kafka Good point. the trouble I have with Alexis as CF 1) At his height, it is difficult to find him. Most teams we play in the PL do not afford us the luxury of space in the box which Giroud creates well. 2) It also negates his better attributes of drifting into unsuspected positions and running at players In fact when counter attacking, unless we are blessed with the attributes of a Henry possessive of both height and speed, the movement of the midfield in support of the CF is crucial. This was the difference IMO over last few… Read more »
I don’t understand all the abuse to Giroud. He’s such a important player to us and he’ll get even better this season.
It may sound cliche, but where’s diaby? Serously.
i don’t hate you, O’Giroud and you are arsenal player but what you’ve done last night was massive! Was good for you is for all of us! no further comment.
I am sorry but I don’t buy all this “he is a no 10/9 whatever so no point playing him left or right wing” bollocks. Some of these players are earning £100,000+ a week. Playing for Arsenal is a honour, if you have to play put of position on those wages you adapt!
And no I don’t expect defenders to suddenly be centre forwards but the midfield area is a different story. Players should be happy to play wherever the manager wants them if it helps the team.
You don’t see Chambers complaining …
Dude gets some grief, not sure why. X
Giroud to Besiktas confirmed.
opinions on podolski’s potential departure?
I really like him and this he’s a good player but he’s not getting the game time he needs/deserves. Should he leave, I think Rues would tick a lot of boxes. We wouldn’t need to sign another striker due to his versatility. The thought of it is salivating.
Holy shit. Just got back to NY from trip to Florida and finally got to watch the tape of the Everton game. I know I am somewhat new to football as the rest of the world knows it and I am from the US, but I didn’t realize that they allowed linesmen with eyesight problems in the BPL. Could only assume he is legally blind after watching the second Everton goal. I could see he was offside and I was in a car driving from Fla. To NY at that time. HOLY SHIT!
I cannot believe the media reaction to liverpool signing Balotelli. It’s remarkable how their perception of him has completely changed just because Brendan Rogers is signing him. Those who called him a liability before are saying he’s an amazing signing.
I know I shouldn’t be shocked by the media bias towards certain clubs/managers but could you imagine the onslaught Wenger would have faced in the media if he had signing Balotelli.
4 points out of 2 games,best haul in 3 seasons,looking good, now beating besiktas will do wonders to the confidence going into the w’end game!
When u like comments is very unresponsive
So who we signing?
I have no problems with our team but watching the game alot of us clearly see an unfair goal against us offside, now this is not the only time but it stopped us having 3pts not alot of teams win at goodison park, i for one would like to see fair screen monitoring esp for offsides, fouls bad official decisions which if you see cricket and rugby fair play 99% coyg pass the word im sick of my team getting stick from and when they play well coyg.