Arsene Wenger believes that Olivier Giroud has the ability to emulate the impact of former Arsenal striker Alan Smith (seen above casually lounging in a field like a character from Brideshead Revisited) and highlighted the Frenchman’s statistics as proof that his summer signing is settling well at the Emirates.
Speaking two days after his compatriot bagged a brace against West Ham to take his scoring tally to 11 for the season, Wenger spoke positively about the relationship the former Montpellier man has developed with Gunners supporters.
“Our fans like Olivier Giroud, because he is a guy who is developing very well.
“First of all he fights for the team, he has great qualities and charisma. I am convinced there is a lot more to come from Olivier and that he can convince our fans he is the striker they look for.”
Without being prompted, the boss also referenced Smith, spearhead of the George Graham title-winning sides of 1989 and 1991 and scorer of the winner in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup final against Parma, as a player to whom Giroud might be compared.
“[He is] maybe like Alan Smith, a little bit – he can develop into this kind of player.
“It always takes time, but he has scored 11 goals and has many assists. He is strong in the air, defensively and offensively, and overall he has important qualities for the team.”
On his day Smith, as many fans will fondly recall, was a serious handful for opponents; both adept in the air and with a craftiness of foot he scored 115 times during eight years at Highbury before a knee problem saw him phased out in favour of Ian Wright.
Replete with all the qualities of a typical English no.9 and an understated panache which saw him score some cracking goals ‘Smudger’ was voted Arsenal’s 27th greatest ever player in a 2008 poll on Arsenal.com.
Arseblog News suspects if you offered such ‘gloire’ to Giroud, he’d snap your hand off right now.
We also suspect that if we offered Alan a chance to swap bodies with Giroud just for a day he’d likewise be pleased as punch…
Arsenal 1 – 0 Parma
Happy days.
Steve Carrell?
Who?
Happier days are just around the corner.
Smudger studies the Encyclopedia Britannica after a casual game of Boules on a midsummer’s day.
A copy of Razzle discretely tucked inside…
itself craftily housing a copy of the Beano
I fondly remember all the three yard screamers that Alan scored!
Alright, maybe not ALL of them…
Sadly, “Smudger” Smith was called up and perished in action at Verdun a month later.
That is a fantastic photo, well done blogs
Good old Smudger, He was a real goal poacher. You could say he had a “nose” for goal!! I’ll get my hat.
Alan Smith. A true gent.
The boss should be spending a bit of our hard earned cash to help Gman and the rest of the team improve.
You mean like helping them do their homework, things like that?
that’s a pretty decent comparison there. who else from the 80s could we compare in the current squad?
gervinho – martin hayes.
mertesacker – tommy caton
mikel arteta – stevie williams
jack wilshere – liam brady (OK so only just 1980s but still)
andre arshavin – iain allinson
robin van persie – vyv anderson
theo walcott – eddie mcgoldrock
chamakh > boy george
If you’re going to say Van Persie is current squad, when he’s quite blatantly not, then I’m going to say:
David Bentley – Clive Allen.
If we can move from the 80s then:
Gervinho (on his bad days) – Glenn Helder
Lukas Fabianski – John Lukic (second time around when he was shite)
Squillaci – Cygan/Stepanovs/Silvestre/Caesar (take your pick)
Denilson – Steve Morrow/John Jensen
TGSTEL – Chris Kiwomya
bit harsh comparing Steve Morrow to Denilson.
Steve Morrow won us a trophy.
Stevie Williams was a fucking headcase Sam. Only one step removed from Frimpong.
Bit harsh on Martin “24 goals in one season, then………” Haysey.
i was thinking paul davis for arterta as well… but williams could pass nicely it has to be said. when he wasn’t kicking people that is
Andre Arshavin – Bella Emberg, to adapt the theme……,
Squillaci – Gus Caesar.
Even typing that name brings me out in a cold sweat.
which name though?
Aaron Ramsey – Graham Rix?
If u didn’t notice Wenger and the board sold van judas to manure, and they have not replaced him and thats why we will struggle to qualify for champions league and win the famous trophy for finishing 4th.
I think we’re developing a daily “beefcake” news item around Giroud on Arseblog. Giroud is very nice with the delicate pass to free someone. For a “goal poacher”, I think he ends up much more the playmaker. To my modest sensibilities, I don’t care who scores the 4 Arsenal goals in 10 minutes when the football is that breathtakingly sharp and fast. It’s easy to complain that our striker isn’t hammering home every touch, but looking at his play he’s been involved in our play. Mr Wenger knows far more than I ever will, so I will expect Olivier to… Read more »
Indeed, Giroud’s touches have been very classy in and around the box, there was a few dribbles he made can’t remember which match but it was very good! Thought it was Wilshere on the ball haha! (the stream wasn’t very good quality)
there were* my bad speeding
Loved him as a player but what is it with Alan Smith and his ongoing criticisms about Arsenal, the team that put him into the media position he is in.
Had words with him at half-time during one game when he had been laying into every aspect of the Arsenal set up, can you imagine an ex-Liverpool or Manc giving grief at every opportunity and getting away with it?
Give us a break Smith
I do find he is quite negative sometimes but I also believe it’s because he cares about the club and his reasoning is usually fairly astute. At least he’s not totally bitter and twisted like Stewart Robson. What’s with that arsehole?
Precisely, of course Arsenal are his club and he is probably just as sick and frustrated as us at what he perceives is wrong at the club
[…] Read More Here: Boss backs Giroud to follow Smith example […]
Podolski = Brian Marwood
& Ramsey = Kevin Richardson
Richardson. Didn’t he get punched in the mush once and just stood there staring at the bloke who’d done it?
Hard as nails.
Loved those days, most of the time we was shit but just seemed like an honest time, I remember seeing Alan Sunderland of the underground and chatting to him as we were both going to the ground, I was going to buy tickets, he was on a drink drive ban I think and was going to the training at the indoor center and the back of the clock end.
Other than Christian gross I can’t imagine seeing many associated with football today being on he underground.
One of my highlights used to be going to the Player of the Year do’s up Tottenham Court Road in those days. You’d walk in and there they were just happy to have a chat. Spent a good hour or so with Richardson and Rixy who refused to join the rest of the players ‘cozza that Scottish cunt’, according to Rico, pointing at GG. All went a bit downhill a few years later, after pissed up Merse jumped the cab queue giving it loads of ‘don’t you know who I am’ bollocks, which ended up with a mate jumping on… Read more »
Excellent Sunderland related anecdote, Voldermort.
I would like to contribute with Podolski taking the bus to do his shoping.
Smith was a good player by the standards of English football in the late 80s and early 90s, but how do you think he would fare today? By today’s standards I think he would be a bit limited technically, I’d see him as a Grant Holt type player.
If he were playing today then he’d probably be adapted to the modern game, just like everyone else is. I think he would still be as good as he was.
Don’t know about swapping bodies, I wouldn’t mind swapping bodily fluids with that walking lump of French man action
Yeah you are what you say you’re not! Lol
A brilliant centre forward, great in the air and his ability to hold the ball up and bring other people into play was second to none. Anfield 89 and all that..good times!!!
Smudger was my first Arsenal hero, probably along with Merse. Then along came Wrighty for a few years then God, Overmars (until he pissed off like a little prick to Barcelona and had a dig at the club), Pires, Henry…
We’ve had some fucking great players. I love being reminded of that.
May I remind you then that we have present day greats such as gervinho.
Sobs
Fuckin hell Frog. Steer clear of the Samaritans if they need someone to help man the phones.
As much as Smudge is a true legend. I can’t help hating his voice and opinions. (No offence Brummies)
Him, Merse and Wrighty have unbearably bad thoughts on just about everything.
Hence them working for Sky and The Sun
To be fair I don’t think they are saying much different from the average arsenal fan these days and I do think thier opinions come from a good heart whereas I think Stuart robson is another story, am sure he was sacked from the club in some form and is just bitter and twisted. And just whores his opinion about the club for the sake of hearing his own voice.
True. Robson is a proper turn coat twat.
And Wrighty is an fed words by an editor, i get that, but Merson is a self confessed Chelsea fan and struggles with words let alone names. Its embarrassing watching him splutter his way through an entire Soccer Saturday. I mean shouldn’t they be paying people who are vaguely coherent?
I pity him.
Champagne Charlie on the other hand is a proper Gooner with proper thoughts.
rumour has it that Wilshere will be Cap’n tomorrow.
Just goes to show the problems at Arsenal if Jack is the only suitable player for the armband. Doesn’t need the responsibility at his age, just let him play not organise everyone else on the pitch. It’s also a curse so he will be next to leave.
Oh, come on Dein. He is a true leader anyway, age has nothing to do with anything. Even when he doesn’t wear the armband he still organises everything. He’s like Arsenal’s Alexander the Great!
I like the Alexander the Great analogy – as long as he just conquers the world, and skips the killing his mates when drunk part.
Jack doesn’t need the responsibility at his age?
What then do we say about TA, the greatest Arsenal captain since McLintock?
Hope he’s on the bench myself rest him for the scousers. Per captain tomorrow for me.
Per is already fine collector. Can’t be both.
Course he can he’s German
Per can be a suitable captain as can Sagna or Koscielny. I’m sure Jack will do a fine job but he shouldn’t be put in this position where he has to do all the work – again it’s Arsenal depending on one player so perhaps giving the armband to those more experienced may make them pull their weight & start performing which will mean making Jack’s job easier.
Totally unrelated to this but I just read what a total cunt Mike Dean has been to us in the last 19 games. We’ve won 7% of those he’s taken charge of. I find that pretty suspicious. Looking at the stats he does seem to officiate in the bigger games for us (Chelsea, United, Sp*rs, City) so a decision against us can have much more impact than in games against smaller clubs. It seems the point at which it turned was when we drew 0-0 with United right near the end of the 2008-09 season (a game we had the… Read more »
The one game he refereed that we did win, was last seasons 5-2 win against Sp*rs…in which Bale dived, and he gave them a penalty.
He tried very hard to have a 0% win rate for Arsenal games, unfortunately he didn’t account for Sp*rs being completely useless cunts.
Indeed Dean is a monstrous cunt.
Did anyone else see the third eye on Soccer AM where he did a cheeky double tap on Diaby’s arse as he ran by???
The ball was fairly nearby but theres no need for an ass invasion now is there?!
Wenger admitted giving cesc the captaincy too early was an unnecessary pressure that told on the player. Lets not make the same mistake with Jack
Agree – read my reply to deano
I reckon the reason no players have been signed up in this January window is that Mr Wenger is preparing himself for not getting into CL next season, thus £250,000 shortfall in the kitty. Prepare yourself fellow Gooners as the foe take over from us as north London’s top team. And it hurts to say that as a Gooner for the last 40 years. Lets hope I wake up after this nightmare to find its all been a Bobby Ewing dream.
Mark really, your judgement is clouded, smudger had a cracking first touch, up there with DB10. You need to get your old vids out and brush up.
Fuck alan smith! The guys a fucking cunt! ALWAYS against us tearing us apart!i have never heard him say anything positive about us.i DESPISE the GIMP CUNT!
The guy scored one of the 2 that won the title in 89, show a bit of respect ffs
How can anybody compare denilson to John Jensen it’s criminal and they forget Steve morrow won a trophy and scored a winning goal in a cup final and still didn’t dance like a prick
Happy for OG to have the same impact as Smudger but would rather he didn’t turn into the sour hypercritical co-commentator that Smith has become, especially when he’s talking about the mighty Gunners.
Show some respect…. Exactly.. To the Arsenal! Tell fuckin Smith to SHOW SOME RESPECT!