Mathieu Flamini says that Olivier Giroud’s recent performances have been a response to his place in the side being under threat from Theo Walcott.
The Frenchman has been more or less the main striker at the club since his £12m move from Montpellier in 2012, but this season found himself benched as Arsene Wenger used the England international up top.
Giroud’s response has drawn praise from Flamini, who says competition for places is a fact of life at a big club.
“Competition is very important in the big teams,” he said. “It makes players stronger and that is what happened.
“It is tough competition up front and Olivier is responding very well because he is playing better and better. That is part of the game and if you want to play at a big club you have that competition.”
Arsenal’s Head of Pointing At Things also said the midweek hat-trick was just reward for his performances of late.
“All great strikers have to respond in the big games,” he continued. “It was a great performance from him and he helped the team very much. He is a top scorer.
“He deserves the credit and I think he gets it. I have not seen it anywhere or from anyone that he is not a top goalscorer. He is proving it on the pitch so is doing very well. I am glad and happy for him.”
Glad and happy, like stuff and things.
I don’t understand how anybody can dislike Giroud. He works his arse off every game, always accepts responsibility whenever he plays poorly, and bases his entire game on the team. For £12m he’s turned out to be a great buy and I hope he can finally get the 30 goal season he deserves this year!
Plus he’s incredibly handsome.
COYG!
Hadnt heard Giroud is not a top goalscorer?
He should come on here more often. Or even just once.
Maybe not here but the pundits generally don’t think Giroud is world class and see that as good reason to slag him repeatedly. Many of the (dare I say less educated?) fans take that as gospel failing to recognise the contribution he does make. Frankly his hat trick in such circumstances speaks for itself. He may lack the pace of a world class striker but he is absolutely top notch in most reasonable thinking Arsenal fans eyes. Best compliment I can pay him is he reminds me of Alan Smith, one of my all time heroes. 🙂
Has anyone else noticed that this site is unfairly overly critical of Flamini on a regular basis, and extremely defensive of Arteta? It’s so strange because I’d play Flamini over Arteta any day, and was actually shocked Arsene decided to bring on Arteta instead when Coquelin got injured.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m so appreciative of this site and all the work that is put in (my first source of Arsenal related news) but it does seem at times that they have a few agendas against players.
Hardly an ‘agenda’, just Bloggs opinion. I do agree with you though that Flamini looks a better bet than Arteta this last while.
It’s the hair.
I was thinking the same when he scored that header at Sunderland just as theo was about to come on..
Coincidence?
Yes
If only all the defenders in premiership believed Giroud was crap, that will be helpful. I think they should all listen to Roy Keane. Then they will never see what will hit them.
Bit harsh on Flambo, Bloggs????
“Arsenal’s head of pointing at things”? I don’t know whether to chuckle or be offended for Flamini.
lol….i was left in stiches…he does like ‘pointing at things’ when on the pitch to be honest
but eh, when you are a ‘billionaire’, (potentially?) you are allowed to do whatever the f*##*k you want
It’s definitely a chuckle!
Flamini left Arsenal at a time when he was clearly top dog at his position at the club. He was the first to abandon ship and the rest followed soon after. Meanwhile, Arteta came in when Arsenal were a shambles and helped steady the ship playing an unfamiliar role as DMF.
Absolutely. Arteta has been a stalwart for our rebuilding. When Wenger was reeling from the high profile departures plus his error in trusting the Denilson generation, he decided to bring in Arteta to steady the ship. Like Henry, Toure later Walcott, Santi, Wenger successfully converted Arteta into a deep lying role. Flamini’s return represents a full circle and the end to the departure crisis. From there on, we have been adding quality and better able to meet current pricing Ozil for 42.3m vs De Bruyne for 55m or Alexis for 32m vs Martial for 35m Wenger is simply one of… Read more »
Thumbs up just for staying on point throughout that essay of a comment!
Santori, wow…thoughtful, honest, supportive of Arsenal and soooo true. Just like Wenger. You will never see an Arsenal player throw their jersey at Wenger. First he wouldn’t buy that player…Second they would respect him and Arsenal too much…Third their teammates would isolate them for benefit of the TEAM
He was nowhere near the first to leave.
Flamini is one of the best come back stories. He clearly realised his mistake. He clearly holds the club close to his heart. Like Giroud, he is one of these unfancied players that is better than most like to quantify them. Both players work very hard and show improvements to their game even late on in their careers. Flamini has improved his passing percentage rate. When you watch him play, he actually uses the ball very well. He isn’t as physical as Coquelin who is younger so you cannot expect him to charge out wide to cover and leave himself… Read more »
I reckon The Flamster is generally glad and specifically happy for Giroud, rather than being both glad and happy for Giroud all in one glad-happy-fest bundle. Either way, I’m glad he’s happy.