He may be more handsome than a Johnny Depp / Elvis / Paul Newman / Marlon Brando hybrid, but Olivier Giroud says he still battles with self-confidence issues before he takes to the pitch.
Revealing that Arsene Wenger has challenged him to work outside his comfort zone the handsome French striker, who has scored 10 goals in 18 appearances this season, spoke about his desire to deliver on high expectations at the Emirates.
“To improve as a player was my target when I signed for Arsenal, I always wanted to improve myself and give everything for the team, for the fans and the club,” he told the Evening Standard.
“I love this shirt and I want to achieve big things with this team. I try to give my best every game, sometimes it goes easy, sometimes I struggle a bit more, but it is always a determination, I try to keep it high in my head, because it is my worst enemy.
“(I am asking myself) am I ready or am I not? The boss told me that before and sometimes I need to push myself a bit out of my comfort zone.”
After signing from Montpellier for £12 million in 2012, the France international spent his first few interviews playing down expectations he’d been signed as a direct replacement for Robin van Persie.
“Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve needed some time to adapt, but in the end it’s worked out well,’ he told Le 10 Sport in the aftermath of his arrival.
“I’m a level headed person who needs something to aim for to move forward, but I haven’t given myself the task of replacing Van Persie. I want to take my place, win over the Arsenal fans in my own way.”
On the cusp of a half century of goals for Arsenal, it’s fair to say he’s well on his way to doing that.
I think the biggest compliment that you can give to Giroud is that he maximises his ability in areas you can work on. He can’t improve his pace, or his agility, or the natural ability to be where the ball drops. But his touch, his movement, his heading, his finishing is improving all the time. He’s doing it against big teams and he’s reacted brilliantly to injury and fresh competition. Chances are he’ll never be ‘world class’ but he’s a very good player no doubt.
This world-class nonsense should stop one and for all. On the current form Giroud is where exactly? Top 10 CFs in the world? Or dare I say top 5? And it’s even better in his role for the Arsenal, lone target man bringing others into play (and recently scoring a lot). In my book, that’s a skill-set and application pretty close to unique.
Agree, we need a ‘world class’ definition. ‘World class’ isn’t just Messi and Ronaldo, they are the very best.
For an example definition, you are an international and are one of the five best in your position in the top league you play in.
Other definitions welcome.
Same definition as above though ‘you are a first choice international and one of the five best in your position in a top league’
Giroud wouldn’t be world class on that basis – Benzema is in front of him.
So Aguero is not world class because of Messi?
That’s like saying Sakho is a better CB than Koscielny because he was picked ahead for France. Selections are about the team balance, and while overall and all around better players are of course picked over worse ones, this is less and less true the more attacking-oriented the player is. Giroud and Benzema are not similar players, and to compare one as better than the other because of something as fickle as pecking order….
You should think about revising your standard, since that world-class jackass over at Chelski had trouble getting in the side with Spain with Xavi and Iniesta and all the other midfield talent they’ve produced recently. He would have been running the show with most any other national side in the world. Hell maybe England would have been better if they left one of Lampard or Gerrard on the bench. One country having a wealth of riches at a certain position doesn’t bar a player from being world-class just because he might be the 10th best striker in the world but… Read more »
Give me a definition then…
Sure thing – here’s my idea:
“World-Class” means (to me anyway) – a player who is a regular player and recognized for his contributions to a team that competes and succeeds internationally – that include clubs for Champions League and International teams, key word being ‘succeeds’
I take the definition of success at the international level to be a quarterfinal finish in a tournament or better. It’s rare that a top 8 doesn’t have some great quality in it, whether it’s CL or WC.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Getting there definitely. Like it as it is clear.
I’d look at who wouldn’t make it – Suarez.
Or who would and is not as good – Joel Campbell.
So may need a tweak, but a good starting point.
Definition of world class is pretty straightforward for a striker: A world class striker is one who you expect to score when one on one ALL the time. When a world class striker doesn’t take his chance, you curse the luck – cursing the player doesn’t even cross your mind, irrespective on how many times it reoccurs. Thierry – world class. So are/have been Messi, Ronaldo and C.Ronaldo, Batistuta, or even David Villa and Aguero. Benzema isn’t. Giroud is definitely one of the top 5-6 strikers in the game. Only 3-4 of these are world class though, and the pretty… Read more »
The goals against Man U, Newcastle, Villa and the two against Boro are not the efforts of a merely good striker. I rate Giroud as the best traditional target-man in world football. He may not do things that are flashy to the eye but he is incredibly effective and a must-have in the Arsenal line-up.
Mind you, the term “World Class” has been bandied about so loosely that it has lost its precise meaning.
I believe the correct definition to use would be Arsene’s,
‘Top, Top quality player’
Olivier is certainly that right now and seems a very different player to the one in seasons gone.
But what I’m thankful for is that he has stepped when it was timely/necessary for him to do so.
Would prefer more certainty than that, my ‘top top player’ probably isn’t yours. For a striker he scores more than 1 in 2 games inernationally and in a top league?? Give us a definition that we can be sure of please.
Top 10 players in your position in the world right now.
Although by that criteria, Harry Kane is world class. Bleurgh
Chosen by who?
Arsenal and a red card?
I’d say world class is a player who’d make a current world team, or at least the bench. I think the terms overused, but for my money there aren’t more than 15 – 20 “World Class” players out there.
OK, interesting, thanks.
Your definition is restrictive, so would rule out a lot of players – for the forward position we have Suarez, Costa, Lewandowski and Ibrahimovic that all can’t be world class for the number 9 shirt and someone has to drop out of Messi, Aguero, Silva, Neymar, Alexis etc for the number 10 shirt. Means we are looking at 2 players tops for a position.
What about the two (or three) best teams in the world, with substitutes, to widen things? We then still have to decide how to choose the players…
Yup. Pretty restrictive. But world class should be. Maybe a way of looking at it is that Messi & Ronaldo are definitely world class as they’d make just about everyone’s “world team” and that the rest are “arguably world class”. 🙂
My problem with that is that I would say that all the players I named just above are world class, probably with a few more I’ve forgotten. And it’s not all forwards, many argue that Chelsea have two world class keepers, for example, before we think of Neuer and others.
So I’d go broader, but we need a definition that makes it easy to decide who is and isn’t.
I like to think of world class being similar, though I expand it to two squads of 25 players, equalling top 50 players in the world on average.
That gives a little wiggle room for form and team cohesion/positions. as Im guessing its easier to figure out who is THE world class keeper than it is to work out who the 3/4/5 world class midfielders there are.
True. Hazard, often the next player on the list, is also labeled world class and he isn’t. It’s a team game. You don’t need world class players, you just need players that work well together and a manager that can make them do that.
Exactly, furthermore Ozil for example could be called world class because he was in the first XI of the winning, world cup team last year. I also happen to believe that he is world class, for many other reasons that I wont list now. However, if you look at his assists for example, he is only as good as the striker in front of him being of high enough standard to convert the pass and score. And if that same striker cannot score as often without Ozil’s in put is he still world class? And back to Goon above, team… Read more »
I like to think of it as if planet Earth was to submit a squad for the ‘Milky Way Galaxy Cup’ then someone ‘World class’ would be part of that 23 man squad.
It is childish and stupid maybe but these world class guys are the PINNACLE of their profession.
Everyone else is just very very very good as far as I’m concerned.
And that’s OK. The term itself is idiotic, I actually hate it lol
Me too. Hence wanting a way to say who is and isn’t and not to have this debate again.
Nowadays, world class is mostly used based on a player’s price tag. Sad really.
Agreed, so we need something better, see above. Messi wouldn’t be world class based on price tag, hasn’t been transferred.
oh snap! Tomorrow’s headlines on Marca: “Los aficionados del Arsenal dicen Messi no de clase mundial, pagó más por Giroud!”
Jajajajajjaajjaja
I dont know .. I dont think we will ever hear anyone claiming Rojo is worldclass .Messi and Ronaldo are everyone would agree but after them the discussion starts..all I can get from this discussion is that the term is stupid nobody really knows what it means it cant be defined as it’s subjective.
I think he’s at least top 5 in the Premier League atm but I top 10 in the world is overexaggeration.
Name 10 better? I bet until recently the media had everyone convinced Cavani was unreal and Falcao was the second coming of Jesus- I certainly rated them highly, though was the first to admit I’d never seen either properly play. I took an interest in Cavani when the links with us began gaining traction (i.e. kept being repeated, as that usually indicates at least some semblance of truth) and he’s no better than Giroud in my opinion. And I wouldn’t be as foolish as to say Falcao is rubbish based on this season alone, but I am fairly certain Giroud… Read more »
Wayne Rooney? 😉
Messi and Giroud are different positions – 9 and 10 respectively (in simple terms). I’d only compare the last three or four in your list with Giroud.
Apologies, 10 and 9 repectively.
So let me get this straight, Giroud has like what 3 months of good form and he’s in the top 10 strikers in the world?? So then Harry Kane is the best English striker around? Lacazette is better than ibra and the 3rd best CF after Messi and Ronaldo?? WOOOW…and we complain about harry kane and Saido Beharino getting overhyped by the press and we’re doing the same thing with Giroud? On what basis is Giroud in the top 10 CF in the world?? Based on his stats for the last 2 seasons or what?? People need to be damn… Read more »
Fun fact: this season per 90 Giroud is scoring as many as suarez and van persie *combined*.
I like Giroud, he’s ok. But TOP 5 striker? Are you mad?
Afaik this year only aguero and costa have significantly better numbers. Ronaldo & co are not cf’s.
I fundamentally disagree. We don’t need a ‘World Class’ definition. It’s a totally fucked objective term that will never be agreed upon because even if you try to set bounds those will be objective judgement calls. Is round better than square? Well are you trying to stack it or roll it? Managers at all levels worth anything are deciding if they’re going to stack it or roll it based on all of the surrounding parameters of other players, opposing teams, etc etc. You use the best tool for the job, and from what I’ve seen he’s the best example of… Read more »
Welcome to the same debate in 3, 6 months time, etc etc, a was of saying a player is or isn’t would make that easier. I won’t be starting the debate though…
I’ll say the same thing in 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48 months, whatever.
It’s a garbage term.
World class is a 30 goal a season striker . Dont make excuses for him, he is good not world class.
Van Persie, Henry, Wright thats world class..
He’s a good player but not of the calibre required to win us the league. He’s good enough to get us a top 4 position and a cup. But we will never win the league with Giroud as our starting striker, and you can quote me on that.
Ex-Priests are often quoted for much less so you’ll forgive us if we forget about this incident entirely.
I quoted for a job recently but didn’t get it and I hear Rooney’s applied for the job of FA diving instructor
No wonder you are an X Priest, you must have a real hard time convincing your congregation of reasons to be faithful.
Right on all accounts. But its not just his touch, movement, heading and finishing, but also his hold-up play and I personally believe his vision is underrated. We need only to look at the wilshere vs norwich goal for an example of just how quickly he reads players movement, awesome stuff.
If it bares any relevance I considered ‘would get into basically every team in the world’ as the basis for world class.
FINALLY!!! someone who gets it!!
Would giroud get into manure, shitty and chelshit first 11?? NO
Would he get into Madrid, Barca, Bayern, Psg, heck even atleti’s first 11…NO.
Fans of Giroud’s hair don’t want to hear that.
He’s definitely will be starting for city and man u.
Have you seen their forwards form lately ? (apart from aguero, but he’ll start alongside giroud of course)
Again, each team plays differently so he might be one damn perfect square peg.. does not mean he’ll start in a team of round holes.
Having said that though, he might even start for Barca as the focal point to bounce balls to messi, neymar and suarez lol, if luiz enrique fancy that style of play.
You must be having a laugh if you think giroud’s going to get in city’s team.
Even if they play with 2 strikers, there’s still bony and dzeko who scored as much as he did last season.
Van rapist has scored 10 goals this season as well…so i don’t get your point.
Better than Benzema, so maybe. Barca, no. Bayern, probably not though Lewandowski hasn’t exactly set the world alight. PSG, I’d absolutely play him over Cavani, but not Ibra. Atletico… Erm, yes? Mandzukic or Torres or Giroud. If your answer is anything but the latter than you’re a moron.
Giroud is better than Benzema and Mandzukic?? No you’re definitely the deluded fanboy. The same Benzema who always starts ahead of Giroud in the French NT?? or is it Mandzukic who Bayern chose ahead of Giroud?? I bet you were one of the guys who said costa was overrated and a one season wonder till he came to Chelsea and shut you up? Go compare giroud stats for the last 2 seasons to that of benz and mandzukic and come back and tell me just exactly how he’s better than both. You giroud fanboys make me laugh…he scores 7 in… Read more »
oh, so world class is 1 player for each position?
Why bother with the term then?
Waste of type.
How many strikers in the world would you have in your team for this season ahead of Giroud? The number is certainly less than 15.
I don’t know how you could write such a good piece then ruin it completely with the first seven words of your last sentence! He IS World Class in every sense of the word.
NANANANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
NANANANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
NANA Giroud!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Giroud confidence high:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150217/-i-feel-good-and-my-confidence-is-high-
It’s the way he makes his goals look so easy, when they clearly are not.
What a player we have.
I love Olivier Giroud. That finishing vs Boro for his second was out of this world
Giroud reveals his confidence struggles lasted for 12 seconds before he caught his reflection in the window of a passing car and though to himself, Damn im good looking.
He would have been a natural as Cat in Red Dwarf.
And he’s a
1000% right!
And he’s a 1000% right. He’s gorgeous!
Love the attitude. You can’t fault that.
I just wish he would stop punching his fist and showing us his disappointment when he misses. He needs to carry on and win the ball back back Alexis would. He did this on Sunday and whilst he was beating himself up, he could have won the ball back and had another shot.
Just the two excellent goals will have to do, I suppose.
man’s got a point though
Alexis didn’t score two goals on the day. If you do that you can justify wasting a couple.
Sooner rather than later, le BGF will get his well deserved hat trick.
Big Gonad-ed Frenchman?
Le Beau Gars Français.
I don’t think calling him a “big German fairy” is going to speed things up on the hat trick front!
He’s French ffs! 😉
In my opinion we would have seen him come close to reaching this calibre of player last year had he not been run into the ground through lack of cover. I believe the injury to him in August helped the fans to appreciate what he brings to the team (who were constantly on his back a la Arteta), and the pressure on him to score goals was alleviated through the signing of more strikers in Alexis and Welbeck. He’s now got the perfect environment to show how good he is.
Actually a shame he sometimes suffers confidence issues – if he added a slight arrogance/swagger/whatever to his game, I think he’d improve even more. Having said that, i’ve been really impressed with his application this season.
Didn’t help Lord Bendtner’s case though…
The difference there is that Giroud’s a much better striker and much better looking, and also probably doesn’t advertise gambling websites on his underwear or shag taxis.
Always knew he’d do good…!
l just wish he’d get up and get on with it
everytime he’s fouled its like a personal insult.
gotta love those goals sunday though
Top Class.
He’s actually stopped that
He takes a good kicking (and the rest) most games, give him a break.
The one man who always always thumps the badge with passion as soon as he scores
I suspect his low confidence only lasts from when he gets up in the morning until he gets to the mirror in the bathroom. Then his gorgeus wife walks in, and then they walk out into they’re multi million pound apartment or house, then he drives to work in his Aston Martin and pull up outside the Emirates stadium because he works at bloody Arsenal football Club. What on earth does he need to prove to anyone? Hehe Sometimes I swear footballers are a bunch of kittens. They roll around and scream like little girls when someone hardly touches them,… Read more »
So you’re saying we need to sign Cecilia Braekhus?
Sounds like agreat idea actually . I look forward to seeing her going up against Fellaini in the cup game.
Knockout signing.
We have lots of spaces in the treatment room now so she can go in there, with her broken foot.
“Knockout signing”
…I see what you did there.
Is anyone here normal? I’ve been wondering this for ages and I think I’m just going to pose the question endlessly from now on. The way fans talk and criticise, ready to bin a player after one game or after coming back a little too slow from injury, know better than the manager what the form of his players is, whom he shouldn’t have started, whom he should have bought. I always wonder if they’re the pinnacle of human achievement in both their personal lives and professional arenas. The way they ‘critique’, I imagine they must live perfect lives, demi-gods… Read more »
Bumpy, stop beating yourself up!
Just because a girl carried on… and YOU got carried off… let it go mate! 😉
It’s good to know that he knows there is something more to this life then being really, really, ridiculously good looking.
Acier bleu?
I love that zoolander ha
For a big man, he has great quick feet.
It is no surprise that Giroud has been involved in some of the best team goals we have scored over the last 2 seasons. His flicks and finesse on the ball is outrageous at times, and I am glad that he is an Arsenal player.
I bet the HFB has good looking feet, (footballers often have ugly feet due to their trade, as we all know)…I rekon his feet are world class!!
I’m not sure about that – I mean, what defines ‘world class feet’ really? I’d like to discuss this in depth and then come to no conclusion at the end of it.
Very well done.
Probably something to do with being able to compete internationally with other feet, while being in the top ten feet in your own country. Or having extra toes or something, I don’t know.
Hope Wenger buys a striker this summer. Welbeck isn’t one. Sanogo not good enough to be second choice and akpom needs a loan spell. We would defo challenge for the league with another striker and Giroud in our arsenal. He’s proved a lot of people wrong with how much he’s improved and that includes myself
So in the same comment that you admit your past judgement on one of our strikers turned out to be complete shit, you decide what Wenger should do with the strikers we now have at our disposal. Reckon you were saying the same thing about Giroud before..? I’m not a huge Welbeck fan either, but more than happy to give him a chance. Primarily because a) he seems like a nice bloke, b) he can be a very useful player if used correctly and c) it would be immensely satisfying to see him become an incredible player here and not… Read more »
I Would choose Welbeck Over Theo Currently (Just my choice)
1.Because of his work rate,Trackin back(The thing which i like most in him)
2.His Speed
3.He has a pretty decent shot too (Remember the curled shot against sp*rs)
4.Just needs few goals to gain confidence
5.Same reason as your point c
Welbeck is good at what he does but he’s right now more of a creator than finisher right now and I still think his off the ball movement is really good – he not only runs into space for himself but he creates it for others which I think is underappreciated. Welbeck would work out as a second striker but that’s not how we play so the clear spot for him is out on the wing where I still prefer him to the out-of-form Walcott right now. When Walcott comes back into form though it might be difficult for Welbeck… Read more »
d) exceptionally hard working
e) very quick
Loved the fact that your a) was… “seems like a nice bloke”
Can you be my manager pleeese! 🙂
And just to emphasise he always puts in a shift, reads the game well, good positioning (but got to work on his finishing). I certainly noticed when he returned after his injury spell out, as he makes a positive difference in the balance of the team, imo.
That as Danny Welbeck I was referring to, not Giroud, fyi.
I quite like Welbeck, I’d be interested to see him get a spell as CF now that he’s a little more settled, I reckon he’d get a fair bit of joy up there now. Hopefully he never does though, as long as Giroud is fit and on form there’s no reason to see it.
Sanchez can do a decent job there too, just in a different way.
Yo Mr.White, can we cook some of that meth your smoking?? Sweet
The current squad are capable of reaching top of the league or winning cups. It down to players to prove themselve worth to the club.
Off topic,and stating the obvious but Adrian Durham is an absolute shambles of a journalist! Closely followed by Stewart Robson and Michael ‘snooze’ Owen.
Think they’re the ones ‘nicking’ a living..
The anti arsenal agenda is so tiresome,when really we have so much to be proud of as a traditional well run club
Keep saying he’s shit, it’ll keep Madrid away.
And before you say “Madrid would never sign him”, keep in mind they took Adebayor on loan once.
Adebayor was great once.
His greatness lasted only as long as it took him to get a huge contract from Milan, er, Manchester City.
errr…no he wasn’t!
He was…scored 30 goals for us in 07/08. Something Giroud is yet to achieve.
Consider the number of quality attacking players and options we have now. How likely is it everything will go through one player to score like it did with that twat or RvPricksie?
Besides he would get a hat trick when not needed and totally disappear at other times. Giroud may not always get a goal, but he’s always showing up and fighting.
“Giroud always shows up Fighting”?? And adebayor didn’t??
Giroud untill recently didn’t have a problem scoring against a big team??
Adebayor of 07/08 was definitely better than Giroud is…put giroud in that team and he wouldn’t score 30..
Just because adebayor was a cunt doesn’t take away the fact that he achieved more than giroud has done when he was around.
No. Adebayor didn’t.
Of course he didn’t. After all, he isn’t as “gorgeous” as giroud or has “nice hair” like him.
Fact is giroud has not done anything to prove he’s world class or better than our previous first team strikers bar chamakh and eduardo(injuries).
Hey Madrid? Giroud is shit ya hear? Shit I tells ya!
Hope that helps ; )
Giroud has certainly improved from last season and responded to competition fantastically. I honestly think the squad that we have has potential to win the league next year. Although we need another proven prolific striker in the team other than Giroud, not just someone who can do a job in that position. I’m hoping that Akpom is the answer, he looks a great talent.
We have plenty of players who are not “world class” (whatever that means) but are under appreciated. Giroud is one of them. Both finish for the goals were fantastic technically. he knows he has to work hard to become better and that is a great attitude to have. Another massive player for us who is often under valued is Per. He has played until recently practically every game. He has not suffered from a dip in form or a WC hangover (whatever that is). Rather, he has had a hard time adjusting to a defensive line carrying too many inexperienced… Read more »
Thank you santori for this and other posts, a beacon of reason amidst gut reaction, impatience and negativity on these and other boards.
Stewart Robson and Owen are the worse.
Carragher is as thick as a plank.
Savage is a twit.
Let’s not even mention Joey Barton the plonker.
Then there are the retinue of fools that have their say on the American ESPN network starting with the Burley chap and the Mexican moronic fellow.
Arseblog and McNicholas presence there is extremely crucial as it helps in correcting misperceptions engineered by the media and trite, red herrings masqueraded as journalistic opinions.
You forgot to mention the clowns that broadcast in Canada. Jamie Sharman is so bad that after five minutes of listening to him you’d be begging to have Robson in one ear and Owen in the other. It’s not just the peculiarly grating and annoying whiny yet oily voice, or the fact that he can’t pronounce a name correctly to save his own life (he once went a whole season referring to Fabregas as “Chesky”), mainly it’s just that what he knows about football would fit comfortably in a matchbox with room left for the matches. Oh, and also that… Read more »
I don’t know why you get all the shit commentators. Over here we get Peter Drury, Jim Belgian(Spelling), Alan Hansen, and the Irish bloke (Gawd love his accent).. They praise heaps and bounds on Arsenal and Arsene. And of course they praise the oppositions as well.. All in all they are neutral. They don’t go for the narrative that Arsenal should do this or that. And they always mention the fact that Arsenal had to go thru’ the lean period because of the Emirates.
He’s got great touch and is an excellent header of the ball. He knows how to finish and he has great vision, always looking to work with the players around him and often in an inventive way. He’s determined, a strong lad and he always gives it his all. It’s also clear he loves this club.
I think it’s fair to say Giroud is a fucking quality player.
Near 50 goals for us?! Well done man! Quality player and hope his scores his next 250 with us.
… three of which come at OT in The Cup… alongside Wellbeck’s hatrick.
World class feet? I guess that belongs to Santi. No doubt about that!
Too much discussion on whether he is world class or not. Who bloody cares? Look at what he brings to the team and be happy with that. On current form, he is irreplacable at the club.
Look at Di Maria. He is world class, right? Falcao, the man that destroyed Chelsea? Look at them now. Struggling.
Why do we need to downplay a player giving his all for the club week-in-week-out by saying ‘Yeah, u r good and stuff, but you ain’t world class’.
Bes striker we’ve had since Henry.