Arsene Wenger reserved praise for Olivier Giroud as the Frenchman, making his first Premier League start of the season, delivered a knockout blow on Boxing Day with a late header to down West Bromwich Albion.
The striker, who now has six goals this season, has cut a frustrated figure on the bench in recent weeks but his efforts both in training on the pitch continue to impress the boss who praised his fighting spirit.
“He makes always a point when he comes on because he’s scored many times when he’s come on,” Wenger told his post-game press conference.
“He has qualities in our squad that are needed and that the other players have not. And he is a fighter as well, Olivier. He has a fantastic mentality.”
After returning late from EURO 2016, Giroud returned to London Colney to find Alexis Sanchez had been given the job of leading the line at the Emirates. The Chilean has thrived in the position and brought out the best in Theo Walcott reducing Giroud to a bit-part role.
Addressing the state of affairs, Wenger added: “It has been very frustrating for him [Giroud] because he didn’t always play and when he played well I didn’t always play him in the next game. But I think we have an honest relationship.
“I have a big respect for him and he knows that. He was not always playing and despite that, he kept a strong motivation level. Our job, when you’re a football player, you have to be always ready. That’s part of the job.
“When you’re selected, it’s fantastic. When you’re not selected, you have to be ready. And the players who are always ready when they get their chance, they are there.
“And the players who feel sorry for themselves, they get their chance and they give you one more reason to justify why you didn’t select them. The fighters are always ready.”
Wenger also took a moment to stress that no player has a right to a starting berth. Competition for places is already strong in the attacking positions and with Danny Welbeck due to return the boss made clear he’ll rotate his options to find the best combination to unpick opponents on a case-by-case basis.
“We are not in an administration here,” he stressed. “We are in a competition. You do not have ‘your place’, like a seat that you buy with a season ticket.
“We are competing and I think if I have only one striker, everybody says ‘What are you doing, you have only one striker?!’
“So you need two or three strikers and we have Welbeck coming back so most of the time I will have to make the decision considering the opponent we play.
“Like today, I knew it would be deep and that in the air could be a solution. So I have to make the right decisions.”
Emirates to roll out a London Paris HFB777 flight showing Up in the Air which has got nothing to do with the movie and everything to do with stellar slomo shots of our magnificent stallion suspended in mid air slotting balls left right centre.
#runstothedoor
That goal was befitting the extraordinary amount of bullshit he was dished out by the Proms. At one stage I feared a second yellow when he started bulldozing people…
All in all a good day with a wee bit itchy arse for 85 minutes though.
Duplicate. Fine. Different names?
Emirates to roll out a London Paris HFB777 flight showing Up in the Air which has got nothing to do with the movie and everything to do with stellar slomo shots of our magnificent stallion suspended in mid air slotting balls left right centre.
#runstothedoor
That goal was befitting the extraordinary amount of bullshit he was dished out by the Proms. At one stage I feared a second yellow when he started bulldozing people…
All in all a good day with a wee bit itchy arse for 85 minutes though.
let’s forgive the duplicate post, it happens to the best of us. and it was a not too shabby comment, either.
I felt sorry for Perez. Putting that ball on a platter for mesut and giroud and noone hungry enough to get on the end of it. Would have done his game time chances a real boost to rack up a very important assist.
Luckily they both combined to nick the 3 points minutes later.
His crosses and cutbacks are dangerous as shit.
i’d love to see perez (start) more often. everytime he came on he put in a real contribution.
Agree with everything said, lets get the man on there, especially with Giroud.
They’re rotating him. And then they’re going to rotate me. Oh my Goooooooooooooooood!
Getting harder and harder to deny Giroud a run in the squad. I understand the boss not wanting to mess with the chemistry when we were on a run, but with our attacking teeth going a bit dull in recent days, it seems we really just need to give minutes to the guys who have been left out, and have something to prove.
Agree, in Giroud and Perez we have goals. Giroud up top also helps us to keep posession as Alexis and Ozil usually play a bit deeper and see more of the ball. We are also not as easily pressed with this system. <wOuld be interesting to see Lucas up top too in one of the coming matches.
We also have goals from Walcott. and Alexis.
We have 4 striking options in Alexis, Giroud, Lucas and the treturning Welbeck too not to mention a quasi-striker in Theo.
Ox and Iwobi may also weigh in with a smaller number so there are goals aplenty, not to mention Ozil.
Likely Lucas (isn’t that how he prefers to be known?) will play up front in the Cup in a week’s time, methinks. Or on the flank beside Giroud, maybe.
If we play with Giroud we need a wide man to put the crosses in for him.
Iwobi is great but doesn’t seem to able to cross. Lucas comes on and puts in 2 or 3 that should have finished in goals. Like many I’d love to see Lucas given more time….
I agree with Wenger. We have to be careful with too much rotation. Players have to get use to each other. We saw yesterday with the new permutations of having GIroud up top that we were a fraction of sometimes in connecting with each other. We were very close picking through the lines or from balls over the top from either of Ozil or Granit. Iwobi and Alexis almost picked through on a number of occassions with passes facilitated by the big man Giroud. The fluency will come with regular understanding. We’ve played with Giroud up top before so this… Read more »
Yeah but we also need to have a plan B, what if Ozil doesn’t fire, like he didn’t during the previous 2 games? What if he or Alexis is injured? Which is why I feel having more games with a squad this large is more of an opportunity than threat. We should be giving Ramsey & Iwobi more time in Ozil’s position during the cup games & as substitutes, I haven’t been a Ramsey fan & I have always criticised him for taking one touch too many, but having seen him play for Wales I think he’s a good enough… Read more »
Can’t wait to see Welby return
What about strategy. AW reduce footbal to who plays or not. Very basic aproche to modern football logics. Can he rotate tactics? For better competition, as he said, I mean.