Olivier Giroud says it’s a shame that Thierry Henry singled him out for criticism, and hinted he’s been left wounded by the remarks of the club’s record goalscorer.
Following the 0-0 draw with Chelsea, Henry – up until then a fairly bland presence on Sky Sports – took aim at the former Montpellier man, saying Arsenal could not win the league with him in the team.
“I think Giroud is doing extremely well,” said Henry, “but can you win the league with him? I wouldn’t think so. He does a job, and he does it ever so well, but you can’t win the league.”
Giroud was defended by Arsene Wenger this week who said, “Nobody can win you the Premier League title alone. Olivier Giroud is part of the squad and he has done extremely well.
“He’s scored 14 goals in the Premier League in 20 games. He works very hard for the team. Alone, of course he cannot win it.”
And tonight, the HFB hit back at Henry suggesting he’d been pressured into saying something more controversial.
Speaking to L’Equipe 21, he said, “I heard he was saying too many dull things. That was a bomb and it had its desired effect.
“It was surprising to hear him take apart the team. I say ‘team’ because it wasn’t just me, it was the spine. I think he’s wrong”
“I didn’t enjoy hearing it. Coming from an ex-France and Arsenal striker, it’s a shame. It was a bit easy for him to say that after Chelsea game.
“We were doing well, unbeaten in 10, my stats were good. It hurt my pride.”
He also suggested there might have been another motive for Henry’s comments, saying, “Maybe he was angry that I needed fewer games than him to score 50 goals for Arsenal”, although he did laugh and suggest he was being a bit tongue in cheek.
Anyway, Henry’s comments have coincided with a goalscoring drought for Giroud. It’s more than likely coincidence, but the best way he could have answered him is knocking in a few and continuing what had been excellent form until then.
Maybe a cup final winner would be a good response.
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Quotes via @mattspiro – who you should be following for all your French football needs.
Giroud is fully entitled to these comments. I fully understands Giroud’s frustration about those comments..
I feel like all this talk about whether Henry was right and whether Giroud is the right player misses the point entirely. Giroud does a job for us, and is fairly effective in a system that we play. I think it’s fair to say we need another system that works against teams where our Plan A pass-it-into-the-net system doesn’t work. Can we win the league with just Plan A? Probably not. Is Giroud the right player for Plan B? Probably not. It’s also fair to say he could definitely do with some competition. It’s clear that Welbeck, Sanogo and Akbom… Read more »
Is plan A the right plan A? Shouldn’t it be plan B and plan B plan A?
Henry as a player is an absolute legend. As a pundit he’s been a complete knob
It’s such a shame he sold his soul.
Sky sports will eat itself. It’s becoming a parody of itself. Amused to death springs to mind.
could not agree more. Lee Dixon is no better. these guys are trying to hard to show no bias by bashing us at every turn.
It’s farcical, the ex arsenal contingent of the media is constantly asked ‘controversial’ questions about arsenal just to try and get a reaction out of them. I think they’ve been told to not let their personal feelings influence their punditry, but why not level the same line at the ex Liverpool or United players? Let’s see carrager field questions about Liverpool’s spending and lack of trophies, or Gary neville asked about whether the money spent on falcao was worth 4th place?
They do it because Gooners rule the social media world. Causing a uproar in the Gooner fanbase keeps them divided which, you guessed it, is good for their TV ratings.
Allen smith is the one who is always doing the bias commentary
In Japan if your boss or another prominent figure criticises you, the normal way to respond is to bow deeply in gratitude for “the advice”, then set about working twice as hard. Ultimately if you fail, you are required to cut your stomach out in order to protect your honour.
Henry is a samurai and he only wants what’s best for Arsenal.
This summer I’d trade Giroud + £10mm for Ibrahimovic (despite his age) if PSG would consider.
You are aware that the last act of seppuku in Japan took place in the 1970s? Since then, that attitude you describe has turned into a caricature.
There are a lot of politicians that I’d like to see commit ritual suicide for failing their constituents. The viewers could vote live like big brother or jungle camp. Oh and could someone convince Michael Owen it is his only option to save face.
So, are either of them in Japan now?
You realise that this attitude lead to Fukushima, right?
I have to disagree. For the BBC he was brilliant, a breath of fresh air. For sky he’s been… Different…
Like I’ve said before, if Henry is going to become one of those pundits with nothing good to say, let alone his old team, then fuck him.
Henry is currently trying to brand himself as a neutral (ie non Arsenal) pundit. Maybe it’s a bit too much from his side. Nevertheless, Giroud has been a very very good striker for us over the past months but in order to win the league you simply do need a world class striker that can make the difference in the top games against the direct rivals (those points do decide which teams is on top, look how close it can be up there and what difference 0, 1, or 6 points can make. Of course I know that theoretically you… Read more »
Even as a legend , Henry should have some level of freedom of speech. Henry himself got that sort of comments as a player at Juventus. We all know how he responded on the field. All Juventus people recognized they made an error letting him go. Olivier, suck it in and watch as many Henry videos as you can and soon everybody will call you a world-class player.
Oh so he should just say what keeps Arsenal fans happy? Absolutely spot on about Giroud. He is too one dimensional. He is not a player who will get you a desperate goal against teams who park the bus, who will be pretty much every team. A striker who can make clever movement and not just play with his back to goal
Giroud is very emotional guy and he is taking to his heart, maybe it is not coincidence after herny comments giroud has not scored a goal, if he wants to be a top goal scorer he needs to be arrogant and a predator when playing not giving a damn what media or pundits talking about him if he let henry comments to dip his form he never ever will be 25+ striker
I agree with Henry. Giroud is a good player, and doing a good job, but I dont think he is good enough to be the first choice striker for a title hunting club. People need to look at the whole picture and not just take Girouds best string of games and base their opinion on that. His finishing has improved tremendously this season and has been top notch, but his passing has been atrocious giving away the ball with every 3rd pass at 68% completion rate, his aerial duel ability seems to be dwindling and he is far off his… Read more »
A well written thoughtful commentary. It would also be prudent to remember the other side. Teams pack the box or park the bus against Arsenal more than any other team. Giroud receives the ball when surrounded by 2-3 defenders resulting in a low pass rate and a lower header win rate. if you put Benteke in that situation I think he might have some of the same challenges.
Eye opener.
Henry is a legend and has a statue. When Giroud is on the pitch he becomes a statue.
LOL I love this comment!
You and I ain’t watching the same games.
kinda puts to bed henrys comments doesnt it?. for a professional footballer leave alone an arsenal striker Girouds comes across as an overly sensitive and a confidnce type of player.surely not the kind of guy to lead the line with consistent performances throughout a campaign. for his well documented limitatations an now this self doubt, its worrying.
I don’t think Henry has been a bad pundit. Most pundits are ostracized for having an opinion, and when Henry does, people get mad. I do agree with Olivier, I think the comments were harsh and can hurt someone’s pride.
But as well, Thierry knows the game and doesn’t worry if people agree with his opinions.
I’m siding with Giroud on this, and I’m glad he’s responded. I know it might be seen as petty, but he’s defending himself and team mates from pretty unnecessary criticism, and also saying what a lot of us were thinking with “I heard he was saying too many dull things. That was a bomb and it had its desired effect.”
That being said, the best way for him to respond would be to get a few more goals in the next 2 games.
Giroud has been decent but when you are a club of arsenal’s stature, you cannot wait for 3 seasons for your top striker to be “decent”.
Its a bitter pill to swollow but there is no denial that there is a huge room of improvement in many departments.
I think thierry is wrong. Of course giroud isnt the best striker arsenal has ever seen, but I think if he is in a good mood, he does well for the team. He fights, is technically good and of course scores goals for us. Everyone has bad games and I think its harsh to just blame Giroud for “not being able to win us the title”
All he needs to do is to prove Henry wrong by scoring goals and he hasn’t. Sentiments must be removed to safe Arsenal. I think Henry is correct.
Henry was harsh. But you are right. No need to sulk. Just get on with it. He’s a good player. If he works hard he will be even better.
To be so openly vulnerable and spk from the heart is admirable BUT you think if maradona said that about aguero he would let it bother him let alone spk about it. Man up Oli ffs
Yees, but Maradona is a drug-addled fatboy who can’t tie his own shoelaces these days. I fail to understand why anyone would take anything he said as anything other than the rantings of a demented has been…….
Err because he is arguably the best footballer ever? Regardless of what he is now, in the matters of football, especially in the matters of scoring goals, I would think Maradona’s opinions would carry some weight?
Speaks volumes of this generation that people would right off Maradona like this.
For the current generation, he was like Messi with muscle and strength and heading ability. He won world cups on his own, that’s how good he was. He dribbled through entire teams with ease. He was in his own league, even better than Messi and Ronaldo.
I wonder if all the money and relevancy that being a pundit brings is worth tarring your reputation as a professional and being viewed as a bit of a knob. I realise their job is to be a “shock jockey” that’ll bring viewers but surely anyone who’s football mad would view these ex-players (some of which are world class) in a brighter light if they used analytical evidence to back up some of their attention grabbing one liners?
Giroud is an okay striker and nothing special. He should shut up and practice how to score goals!
Nothing wrong with what henry said…lets be realistic; scream “hfb” all you want, truth is giroud is nowhere good enough to lead us to the title. People keep talking about how he’d have led us to the title, but they forget that apart from the community shield game and the everton match, he was average(some say he was having a wc hangover). 56 goals in 3 seasons isn’t exactly world class. I find it funny when people compared his first 2 seasons to that of henry…..henry scored 26 and 22 goals and was far younger. People need to accept it….he’s… Read more »
I’m bored of this now. Henry isn’t a very good pundit and although I like Giroud, I do think we need a striker who can offer a different option to him.
Thierry isn’t any old pundit, he’s an Arsenal legend and doing his coaching badges at the club. What he said was out of order. The fact that Francis Coquelin spoke out about how unfair those comments were indicates that the team took them to heart, and there was nastiness aimed at Ollie. In the words of the greatest Coq in the land Thierry should just “shut the fuck up” and stop stirring. This team has enough spine to win the FA Cup and with a couple of additions can seriously challenge for the title next season. Come on Gunners! Come… Read more »
I’m sorry but Henry is right, he’s 100% right. Do you really think we’ll win the league with Giroud up front? I’m sick of all the Giroud apologists. If it was up to you he’d be our main striker regardless. Now look, I like Giroud. He has a hefty boot and can shank them in. But look at the chances he’s squandered in our recent games. Had he been on form we’d be second in the league. If you look at all the big leagues around the world it’s always the same, the teams who score the most goals usually… Read more »
This isn’t La Liga. This is Premier League.
Well, His personal life should not be used to evaluate him as a player on field. He has progressed really well over last three seasons. He is being unnecessarily blamed for whole team’s failure to score goal in some matches. Agreed that he is leading the line, but that does not mean he has to always score to prove his worth to the fans. We cannot compare him to Messi, neymar, CR7. He is a different player. It is not his mistake, if his teammates does not step up,when he fails. How many goals have been scored by Welbeck ?… Read more »
You can use his personal life in the debate if it affects his performance, which it did, so he should stop screwing around better important match days
Just saying: I think people have selective memory when it comes to Henry as well. He’s bottled a fair few chances as well- especially during our champions league final in 06. He’s missed easy chances too.
Point is, winning the title isn’t something you can do by just changing one component in the team. Hell, you could put Messi in QPR and they wouldn’t be anywhere near the title. It’s a team game for a reason.
‘If you’re gonna win the league you need a fucking sicko up front’
So how did Chelsea win the league with their ‘sicko’ centre forward Costa’s goals drying up since Xmas, and himself being injured half the time? And how come ‘sicko’ Aguero’s goals weren’t nearly enough to win City the league? Please explain.
How many leagues has Aguero won? How many league has Costa won? You need more than one good striker in the team, preferably 3 strikers. City have Aguero Jovetic Dzeko and Bony. Their sub strikers are better than our main striker. They won the league last season. Chelsea have Costa, Drogba and Remy won the league. We have Giroud, Sanogo and Welbeck. Where are the goals coming from?
Maybe Henry is right, maybe not, time will tell. I can understand the fact that Olivier was hurt in his pride but there’s only one way a real champion, a real class player can respond and react to that: scoring more goals. Unfortunately, after those comment Olivier failed to do that. Maybe it is a coincidence but he must prove that he can be consistent even under pressure and the good form in this spring isn’t just a “flash”. I expect a solid performance in the FA Cup Final!
Giroud has alot of qualities but lacks the one thing needed for the top level pace
If Wenger played 442 then i think he would be a perfect foil for the other striker.
If he is having a bad game and not holding up then we dont have the option of knocking
It in the channels or over the top
If Thiery says Giroud doesn’t win you the league , i will believe him. He knows how leagues are won. I think he is saying something obvious here . Giroud has been here 3 seasons and he hasn’t won the league. And why did wenger want to buy Suarez ? Because he can win you the league , if you surround him with the right players
I just wish we’d spend 35 million on a world class striker like Andy Carroll.
henry in his playing days was known to contact journos who were critical of his performances, and even seek for them to retract their views, so why should Giroud not speak out against Henry’s comments, we also must consider that the two would meet and speak to other on a regular basis as TH often is at London Colney and also at AFC games, and Grioud’s reaction suggests that this might all be a bit two faced from Henry. I also do wonder when Giroud says that Henry was told to say something controversial by SKY, if that is more… Read more »
To me giroud,is given arsenal his best he only needs time ,and i would like thierry to stop criticising him after_all you both come from france
look we all know it (and I think giroud knows it and welcomes the help). there was just no need for an arsenal legend to mouth off about it other than to stir up controversy for his station’s ratings. Henry is a smart man and knows exactly what he’s doing, and he should as well understand his voice is not going to force any changes. so again, this was about getting ratings and nothing more. giroud puts in a shift every match he plays on both ends of the pitch and though he may not be world class and does… Read more »
Ummm if our star striker can’t handle some shit talking by anyone on TV he has no place up front, sometimes I wonder if Giroud has mental health problems. Either handle it or GTFO.
Henry targeted the whole squad. He said Arsenal needs 4 not 1 player basically the whole squad is shit. Even if he thinks so, for a person so connected to the club to make such statements is at the very least disrespectful. I’ve lost a lot of my respect for him as a person. I can’t understand how he can look these guys in the eyes anymore
He didn’t say anything of the sort. I bet most people who are talking about Henry have only heard a few clips rather than the entire analysis. He said Arsenal have a good squad but they need four players to really challenge. In his time at arsenal, every position had competition. Competition is what drives motivation to succeed because you know if you don’t perform there is someone waiting to take your place. Giroud doesn’t have that genuine competition. As for goalkeeper i don’t think anyone disagrees about getting a real class keeper in. As for CB, the players he… Read more »
He’s our man…and we stand by him. Come on Ollie!…. Get that cup final winner!
What’s really shameful isn’t the fact that Henry gave his opinion, no matter how simplistic and unthoughtful they were. No, it’s the fact that he tried to side with the likes of Carragher, and play the role of a demagogue, just to get his fat paycheck. In this particular case, I think Henry is the one who’s spineless. I’m sure we’re all biased towards him because he’s a club legend. But let’s just remember him for what he is, a great footballer and that’s it.
I tweeted about this just this morning. The recent dip in Giroud’s form coincides closely with Henry’s comments – just as it did last year with that hotel scandal business. Giroud is a confidence player and, unfortunately, he seems to get demoralised very very easily. You can call it a weakness – but I prefer to call it human. Henry’s comments were out of order and done for the very reason given – he has to justify that ridiculous £4.5m price tag somehow. My worry is by being on the scene every week now, Henry can have a negative affect… Read more »
Storm in a teacup that’s not worth anyone getting upset about.
The only person who was 100% right was Wenger.
The problem is unfair comparison. Yes, he can’t single handedly influence games like Henry did (eg vs pool 03/04), but which centre forward in the current leagues can? The obvious ones I can think of are Ibrahimovich, Suarez and Aguero and two of those are slightly deranged and getting a bit long in the tooth (haha) and the other probably is the highest paid in the epl. Our best tippy tappy one touch football always seems to involve Giroud and he can occasionally spank one from long range or do his trademark near post flick and I’m cool with that.… Read more »
Henry was wrong to jump on the ‘Giroud is not good enough’ bandwagon, but as a pundit he needs to earn his dosh. Giroud for me needs to care less about what people think of him and grow thicker skinned, teams like chelski and utd have proved in the past you don’t always need a mythical ‘world class’ 30 goal striker but just a balanced team that attacks and defends in equal measure. He does a job, brings others into play and is improving season on season goals-wise. I’m not having this ‘we won’t win the league with him’ lark… Read more »
How many hattrick has Giroud scored?
Zero
The only reason why giroud is scoring that amount of goals this season is definitely because of the midfield stars that we have in the squad. Not saying giroud isnt good enough, but he really needs to work on his conversion rate, pace and basically become a fox in the box. Putting more goals in will shut henry up. Pundits will always have their own opinion, even if you do everything right but one wrong, tendency is that people will make a big woohaa out of a molehill.
Well… Thierry is not wrong is he? Can’t win the league with Giroud. Need a more clinical striker to challenge him for the starting 11. The difference between Giroud and Aguero is so huge… Sorry Olli.
Because those two are completely different type of strikers. *facepalm*
& we already have our own Aguero in Alexis Sanchez!! Next season when he’s more settle with the team, he’s going to make more riots.
It’s kinda funny how the majority of arsenal fans turn on Henry after that comment and doubt his integrity too. Had it occurred to you that Henry might of been honest and maybe even right too? Personally I agree giroud is not a world class striker and we should be looking to upgrade in the future. Sorry if that offends people, I know he’s handsome and that seems to be important to some people for some reason but for me he wouldn’t get into any of the other top 4 teams and that tells you all you need to know.… Read more »
What Henry meant was Giroud needs a strike partner who can create and score goals out of nothing in games such as Sunderland and all the rest of the games that teams come to park the bus as that seems the only way teams have mastered as the only way to stop arsenal and more likely to do it again next season as it is working for them.
Ramsey has been criticised a lot more often, and after a year-long injury as well, yet he managed to turn it around. Henry has not even said he is terrible, he has said he is good but we need another option. Giroud should not be effected by these comments for such a long period. If anytime he gets criticised he will fail to play well for 3-4 games, then we might as well replace him tomorrow.
It seems Arsenal fans are equally as sensitive as Giroud.
I completely agree with Henry, the only criticism is maybe he shouldn’t have said it in public but there’s no denying that we need a better striker than Giroud
One point Henry missed was the amount of goals we have scored from different players in all positions yes everyone wants a messi or ronaldo but these are the elite of the world. all the people going on about cavanni, falcao who would be 25 + millions have done nothing. he never even mentioned any strikers we should sign. constructive criticism is ok but derogaroty is not. has he ever mentioned the emergance of Ramsey after his career threatening injury, or bellerin, coquelin ? NOPE… he has fell into the trap of spend millions to achieve yes we know that… Read more »
Henry is a legend. We haven’t won the league this season and he is as entitled to be frustrated as any Arsenal fan about that.
I would like to see Giroud in any Arsenal side though. And along with Sanchez, who could say we don’t have top quality strikers?
Henry is a good pundit but it sounds like sky are just telling him to say stuff that is anti arsenal.
Henry he is more handsome than you get over it!
While Henry is a legend he is also now a pundit, and in that line of jobs, the more controversial the view the more talk it generates. Not sure if he actually meant what he said tbh. Also I read this somewhere online today: Giroud was and will never be at the same level as Henry, he had to work hard to rise from the lower leagues and make it to where he is today. And to be fair this has been his best season for us. I think he’s entitled to feel pissed off when you’re in the best… Read more »
The problem with this Arsenal team is that it’s a good team with good players, it isn’t however a great team with great players. In order for any progress to be made requires a hyper critical eye and complete honesty, and if you’re honest with yourself then the truth is that Arsenal need up grades in 3 or 4 positions, of with striker is one. That doesn’t mean Giroud is terrible, because he isn’t but he also isn’t good enough to win us the league and thats a fair and honest assessment. The same can be said of Goalkeeper, central… Read more »
Henry says it how it is ? We need a aguero? Suarez? Costa? Up top giroud is very good at what he does . But is not at the same level as other world class strikers
Still think it was disappointing for Henry to make such unfair comments. Quite uncalled for. I think Giroud has been brilliant this season and his work ethic cannot be questioned. In reality Henry must know nobody can deliver a trophy singlehandedly. He certainly didn’t. Henry the player was excellent. Henry the pundit is a bit of a tit. Shame.
Boring boring Henry!
Henry speaks the truth. He didn’t say Giroud is bad, he said he is good, but he is not enough to compete for top top honours. A top striker like Suarez, Aguero, Rooney, Henry and the pre-United Van Persie is essential for progress. Someone that the team knows that if they pass to will likely to score. We lack top quality at the most vital positions – GK and Striker.
I’ve said it before but for some reason, barring the very odd exception (like The Romford Pele), ex Arsenal players hammer their team more than any other.
Alan Smith, Stewart Robson (knob) and Paul Merson are some of the worst offenders. No idea why.