Arsene Wenger has praised Olivier Giroud’s development after watching the France international score both goals in Arsenal’s impressive 2-0 FA Cup victory over Middlesbrough.
The brace takes the 28-year-old to 49 goals since he arrived from Montpellier three years ago and his boss says hard work on the training ground has paid dividends.
“I believe that he is a different player today than the guy who arrived here for two reasons,” Wenger said in his post-game press conference.
“One, he understands what top-level football demands, works with a great concentration in training and he has improved tremendously on his mobility, his technical quality and of course his body is very strong. He uses it very well.”
Giroud’s opener, scored from close range on 27 minutes, saw all 11 Arsenal players touch the ball in the build-up. It was followed by a ruthless second just two minutes later as the Frenchman finished on the volley from Alexis Sanchez’s quickly taken corner.
“The first goal is what we try to do in our game and our build-up,” continued Wenger.
“The second goal shows that the game belongs to the players as well because it’s a consequence of two players who respond quickly to a situation, analyse it quickly and do what they want to do well. That’s basically what it was. It’s a consequence of intelligence and technique.”
He may have been the matchwinner on the day but Giroud was full of praise for his teammates for their help setting him up.
“I’m pleased we won and I had two fantastic assists from Alexis and Gibbs. We kept another clean sheet and we carry on in our good run and we want to keep that going.
“I have been waiting for a hat-trick for over two years now and but the boss decided to take me off.”
Giroud now has 10 goals in 18 appearances this season, a pretty decent effort in light of his stop, start season. He’ll have to handsome in a hat trick on another day. Hopefully against Palace at the weekend.
He’s a beast! He’s been great since coming back. Same with Ozil. Love the upgrades Wenger apparently downloaded and installed in these two.
Very telling that he comments on keeping a clean sheet as a centre-forward, clearly its a team focus (about bloody time!)
I’ve noticed him tracking back and defending a whole lot more since coming back from his broken leg than before. It’s great to see him doing that.
I think he has had the most headed clearances at the club since 2012-13 ahead of all offensive players. Says a lot about his aerial ability.
Have always liked Giroud. Continued to chip in last season when he was clearly knackered and most of his supply, Walcott, Özil, Ramsey etc were out or had lost form.
Same, glad he’s adding more and more goals to his game.
So much of what he does is off the ball so it doesn’t seem to really get picked up by the cameras – whenever you see him live he’ll spend 90 minutes wrestling centre-backs out of the way and pretty much always making the space or getting the flick-on.
Im assuming walcotts our top goalscorer currently on the books? Anyone have any idea how many more. Sure feels like a long time since we had a gooner hit his century of goals for the club. Beside that skunk haired fuck.
According to Wikipedia, Theo’s got 72, so a strong 18 months should see him hit 100 by the end of next season.
As blogs said, he’s doing a huge job for us right now. Double figures even after breaking his foot is just fantastic.
Also, that near-post sweeping volley, oof! That kind of goal is quickly becoming his trademark finish.
He’s not world class but it’s true that we’re a better team with him on the pitch.
Never really liked that term, it’s so damn ambiguous you can never know what someone else is saying.
Totally agree. It’s a worthless term, I cringe every time the morons on the telly have some mini-debate over whether a player is “world class.” If you want to levy a criticism, tell us something specific where you think he needs to improve. “He’s not world class” is garbage from someone who just wants to say something negative.
Pretty obviously the adjective world-class is applied to a player whose quality is at the level of the very best in the world. It’s not the fault of the people using the term if you lack the intellect to comprehend even basic semantics.
You use it that way. Others use it a different way, there are different ways to interpret that. For example, you might have meant ‘Giroud does not have exceptional technique he can use to create opportunites for himself and others like Messi and Aguero’ or you might have meant ‘Giroud does not finish enough of his chances to be considered a great goalscorer’ or you might have meant ‘I don’t think what he gives to the team is at the same level as another player might give us’. The lack of information in the statement makes it a failure to… Read more »
World class ass hole in action.
So what is world class then???
name a better striker in the EPL? Costa has cooled off a bit, Aguero is always hurt, RVP is fading…
I don’t think Giroud gets the credit he deserves. 7 goals in 10 appearances seems “world-class’ to me.
The generality of a statement does not render it useless. The response to my post is based upon its perceived negativity, not the fact that it is general in its phrasing. I could’ve posted ‘Giroud na na na na na na’ instead like a sheep and got fifty thumbs up from my fellow sheep – as it communicates far less – but it seems like anything critical prompts an unreasonably hurt response.
By the way, the Oxford dictionary of ‘world class’ is ‘(Of a person, thing, or activity) of or among the best in the world’. I suggest you might like to consult it next time you have a lack of understanding.
Being first choice centre forward at a major European club, and one of the best strikers in one of the best leagues, would put him amongst the best in the world.
The problem with a phrase like ‘World Class’ is that, when you consider that there are 7 billion people in the world, being in the top few thousand means just about every professional footballer is amongst the best in the world. It’s virtually meaningless.
With no context of the way it is used in online football discussions, and I tend to believe context is very important.
Incidentally, my response to your post was based on the fact I don’t like the term ‘world class’ as I believe it muddies discussions due to the width of it’s use online.
The following responses are merely because you insulted me.
Well, being a striker at the world cup and 1st choice at a top 4 club in the PL by definition puts him in a category ‘among the best in the world’, so there is the term’s ambiguity right there.
He’s numbers prove that he isn’t world class. his goal scoring ratio is below 0.5 goals a game(unless you add his assists like some would).
Oh? Is that an official ‘World Class’ rating metric?
This whole world class shitefest is garbage only used as an objective excuse to trash a player that is playing well.
Its comments like this that piss me off.
I’m happy giroud is on form…he’s finally scoring against big teams and has good hold up play, etc.
but he is NOT better than Aguero, Costa and RVP. Harry kane is probably in better form than Giroud; but do I think he’s better than giroud(or even as good as he’s made out to be)…NO.
Try and look at things objectively.
Looking at things objectively Giroud is better than RVP. Not Aguero or Costa (yet) but he’s definitely better than RVP (RVP as he is now, not a few seasons ago).
Its the plain truth. Giroud is a decent striker, but he’s just not in league of the likes of suarez, diego costa, aguero, ibra, benzema, lewa.
I don’t know what he’s done that makes some people think he can not be criticized. Adebayor despite scoring 30 in the 07/08 season was still criticized as being wasteful.
Its the same people that called mandzukic and costa “inferior versions of giroud” on here.
Till he proves otherwise, he’s just not world class and certainly not the best striker in the league.
Well a thing to note here is that the term world-class is today used as such a blanket statement that it loses out on the “Oxford” meaning mentioned by Tobin. Analogously, it is the same way all those click bait articles mean that if you see a title such as “Best skill ever!” or “Mourinho hates him! This one secret turned Jesus into the true Special One!” you’re a bit nonplussed because these terms are thrown around so much they lose their original connotation. Additionally, Giroud has always gotten stick ever since he arrived at the club. Sure, he isn’t… Read more »
Personally, I think it’s pretty clear that by world class what was meant is that he is not, and never will be, among the very top echelon of strikers in the world. Debating semantics is one of the most pointless activities in which you can engage – why some people saw it as a good idea to raise this I don’t know.
Let me ask you I question…if you were to name the top 10-15 strikers in the world, would Giroud name be on it? If I sound like a bitter fan for stating the obvious that he’s not world class, then you’re bitter because the truth hurts. So if a suarez or aguero comes to the team and we change the style of play and it brings GREAT success, you wouldn’t like it? Our style of play presently with giroud, has it won us the league/champs league?? Tobin has summed it up perfectly: We are a better team with him playing,… Read more »
We’re better with him in the team. What the fuck use is this totally objective ‘world class’ garbage then?
I’ll tell you what it’s used for, bitter critics just reaching for any excuse possible to trash the team.
Victoria Concordia Crescit.
When i say we are better with him playing, i say that based on the options we’ve got. A perfect example of this is alexis. We had the ox, poldi, santi and theo who could “do a job” on the wings. But we signed alexis and you can see the obvious impact he’s made. Just because Giroud “makes the team better” when he plays doesn’t mean we can’t do with an upgrade. Its fact…giroud has done nothing to prove he’s the striker to take us to another level…till he does, i still stand on my assertion; he just a decent… Read more »
Good points, well noted,, Alexis… He has a lot to offer the team as a whole, as has already been mentioned. Criteria…
Giroud is bringing back the faith I lost in him. He scores some goals which are pretty hard to score easily.
Na Na Na Na..
Na Na Na Na
Giroud!!!!
He is world class.
Sorry, you’re not allowed to use this term.
Oh fuck off you petulant brat
Na na na naaaaaaaa geeee-rooooo! (Going on phonetics, obviously, I don’t usually spell like a 12 year old on cocaine).
I love Giroud. He’s grown into an absolute boss! A really crucial cog in the team and probably one of the first names on the teamsheet for me.
Nice to see him scoring but his decision making was a little suspect. Welbeck could have had a brace too if Giroud bothered to pass on more than one occasion.
There isn’t a player alive who doesn’t make bad decisions from time to time. The best player on the team, Alexis, was guilty of giving the ball away a few times when he tried to dribble with no space, or try a clever pass when a simple one would do. Is it something to work on? Absolutely. Does it outweigh all the positives he brings to the team? Not even close.
He has become very good. But Even the manager says he has improved tremendously from what he was, so past critisizm of him As our Main striker was warranted in my opinion. In his first 2 Seasons with us he averaged a conversion rate of 13%, which i believe is the lowest in the league for players with more than 10 goals a season. He also never kNew how to use his size to his advantage and got bullied to much for someone of his stature, and he has been very inconsistent. This season however he has been a different… Read more »
So Trez, in your own rating, can you list down the top 20 strikers in the world as at the moment (backed by stats and current form) and then we may judge Giroud based on facts and not mere speculation based on personal preferences? Thank you
Oh what lovely Monday this is.
Giroud more of the same please.. I made you captain of my fantasy team.
I love this guy. Since he came back from injury we’ve been a different proposition and we miss him so much when he’s out.
Plus, that hair.
Giroud can score goals no doubt but it pisses me off at times when he chooses the wrong option to shoot when another attacker is clearly open making a run. Selfish at the wrong times, but a beast goalscorer nevertheless who has more to come!
Is Wenger saying Giroud is LANS?
Where is Fat boy??
Gnashing his teeth in anger, while eating a 6-patty burger.
Racking his brains trying to find something new to complain about. At least we’re getting a nice break from him and the rest of the trolls/haters. I have a feeling we could go 38-0-0 next season with a +274 goal difference, and these idiots would still be whining that Giroud’s not “world class” (whatever the fuck that means) or Ozil’s a drifter or Walcott’s a one-trick pony.
I’m glad he’s finally gettin the respect he’s deserved. without him the squad, our attack goes to shit. fuck all the haters, and those who wanted poldi to stay LOL. that social media tard has done piss all for inter: – still hadn’t scored after getting that precious regular playing time – only goal Atalanta scored yesterday was because he gave away a free kick near their goal. surprise, surprise it was do to his laziness! for all the shit Giroud has gotten from you fickle lot over the past few years, you should be thanking the bloody heavens we… Read more »
It’s funny how some armchair fans still maintain that he is not world class. Can anyone define world class please? The guy is playing in tip division and every time he starts we can AT LEAST expect on goal from him! He’s been consistent since he came back and all his goals are classy with wow factor. For me he IS world class.
Well said. Could we perhaps define one as “world class” if one is picked for world-level competition, i.e., an international match? Giroud’s got 35 caps for France. I’d say that makes him world class.
So is Abdul jaffar who played for UAE in the world cup world class?
Compare his goal scoring records to the likes of Suarez, Aguero, Rvp, Benzema, Lewa, ibra, Costa, Falcao and you’ll see that he pales in comparison.
Heskey played 62 times for england and played in 2 world cups…I bet heskey is world class too right??
He doesn’t get much praise for his movement but for both goals his movement was superb.
One of the biggest changes in Giroud (as well as with Ozil) that I’ve seen since his return is his effort on defense. Not sure if that is because he has legitimate competition for playing time with Sanchez and Welbeck here now or if it’s the effort that Sanchez plays with is rubbing off on others, but Giroud has really been dropping deep to help out defensively and chasing back if he notices others in front of him. Really has made a difference. The other big thing he is starting to do a bit more of is taking a touch… Read more »
Hmm, I’ve thought of his work in defense as impressive since he started at Arsenal.
They never learn. they were on Santi’s back just recently before he started finding the net again. We were told by them that he was past his best. they were on Walcott before he was even 23yrs, and thenafter that Ramsey, more recently jack and Welbeck. they’ve even started on Sanogo who is only 20yrs! they were on Ozil for a while telling us he was a waste of money. they rubbished Flamini who put in a great shift against Boro. Contrast with Leicester City where we were far more jittery with a first choice currently in the position. Clearly… Read more »
Giroud scored 22 goals last season…not 26.
he is improving but I guess it’s due to increased competition Let’s see if he can maintain his form before considering him as world class.
Not sure why so many ppl getting upset on here about the “world class” debate
So Trez in your own rating, can you list down the top 20 strikers today based on stats and current form, then we can judge OG12 from facts and not speculation and personal preferences?