Olivier Giroud admits he was relieved to end his scoring drought against Manchester City having gone 15 Premier League games without a goal.
The Frenchman converted a header from Mohamed Elneny’s corner on 10 minutes to cancel out Sergio Aguero’s early opener and later set up Alexis Sanchez’s second half equaliser; a telling contribution that earned him praise from his manager.
Amazingly, even though Giroud hadn’t scored in the league since the 3-3 draw with Liverpool in January his performance yesterday means he’s now been directly involved in 27 Arsenal goals this season (21 goals / 6 assists) – the same number as Mesut Ozil.
Speaking to Arsenal Player after the game, the striker admitted he’s found life difficult on the pitch in recent months.
“The goal meant a lot because it has been a tough time for me on the pitch as I have missed a bit of efficiency, a bit of luck and a lot of things. Things haven’t gone my way to [allow me to] finish, but I kept the faith and knew that it would come back.
“It is always nice for a striker to score, even more with an assist for Alexis’ second goal which was important. We now have our own destiny in our hands to finish third or maybe second.
“These last few weeks I tried to set up goals. [Alexis’ goal] was my sixth assist but I’m happy to score too and help the team to reach our target and qualify for the Champions League. That is a great present.
“We are a team and a group that makes the difference. We try to help each other do the job. We fight for each other and we have a good understanding.”
To date, the most goals Giroud has netted in a single campaign is 22 (2013/14). He’ll no doubt be hoping to equal or better that on the final day of the season when the Gunners take on Aston Villa.
He’ll be 30 early next season. Only one foot, not very fast. Did well yesterday but if he had performed for a full season we’d be challenging. I don’t think he will improve from now.
I’d favour being ruthless, getting someone else in to score us goals.
That’s stating the blindingly obvious! Which is absolutely fine as a supporter. However, it’s disappointing that the club didn’t spot the obvious at the start of the season to address the same. Ofcourse behind the scenes, the club might have negotiated with one (Aubameyang) or two (Benzema) credible (at a strech) alternatives. However we have go with the market rates rather than refusing to spend the extra £5-10 million in the bank, thus choosing to gamble on the season (not to mention the now regular use of the same funds for the annual ‘consultation’ fees for the owners). Our use… Read more »
Only one foot? It’s one good left foot he has. We need someone more clinical but Giroud is worth keeping. A good plan b.
Mate, Van Cunt’s left foot was great, George Hagi’s left foot is also great. Messi and Maradona had great left feet they’re so unbelievably one footed. Giroud? I’m not even sure how you can identify his left foot as his strength. Hold up and link up play is actually his biggest strength.
It’s a lot better than his right!
Though he has also scored more headed goals since he came to Arsenal than anyone else in the PL. So he is great with his bonce.
If we have any chance to sign Mahrez, we should do it.
With two wingers that can score 15 goals a season we wouldn’t rely on a striker who shines only certain periods of saison.
Mahrez scores plenty of goals in a team that plays like Leicester (that would be Leicester, by the way), and he hasn’t had to contend with the old “two banks of four” the way Arsenal do. He might have to play a completely different way if he came here. Even Alexis has struggled with the “two banks of four and bugger all space to run with the ball” that we almost always face. Mahrez probably realises that, which is why he would likely look elsewhere if he wanted a move.
Is that a thick line drawn with an indelible ink marker? Or did you draw it with pencil? Just asking
I think Giroud gets more stick than he deserves…. for a striker playing with a team that isn’t in his style, he’s done well. And let’s not forget how much he contributed in the fall… is it his fault he was really overplayed? Of course we should get a different striker for our ideal starting 11, but his contributions should be recognized, and he should remain a solid plan b. If he is sold, then what will our back up be? Does anyone really think we will get in 2 strikers during the summer? Doubt it
Hope he gets a hat trick against Villa. And Newcastle beat Spurs. Small beer. But beer all the same.
I think it would be even funnier if we beat villa 14-0, Spurs scored a late equalizer against Newcastle and thought they’d done it, only to find we overtook them on goal difference.
Our league record win is 12-0 and it’s stood for 116 years. Aston Villa are the perfect team to play if we wanted to beat it… and we haven’t broken any records in the league for a few years. This would be a great one to break at the weekend.
Even 13-0 would do it, since then we’d be tied on goal difference but ahead on goals scored … unless Newcastle and Spurms somehow contrived to draw 8-8. A 13-0 win and a 7-7 draw would mean we’d have to have a play-off because we’d be tied on points, GD, and goals scored.
So yes, a 13-0 victory over Villa and Spurms come from 0-6 behind with 10 minutes left to draw 6-6 at Newcastle. That would be the ultimate good day.
For a £12m striker in a team that doesn’t play to his strengths he sure does get a lot of stick doesn’t he? Pleased for him as he was one of the only players to truly turn up yesterday.
Get him a strike partner and play him in a 4-4-2 and he’d hit the 30 goal mark no problem.
I think even Walcott would love to play as striker with Giroud in a 442 and it may well suit both of them better! However, just like it’s not the players decision on the formation, neither is it the supporters’. Maybe Giroud is the wrong striker in the current formation as per your logic but the supporters ultimately want to see us win! When the performance, results and title challenge is not upto expectations, everyone and everything comes under the microscope, including the manager! If the manager doesn’t want to change the formation, we need to find the right players… Read more »
Arsene, shaking things up with a 4-4-2? Lol. If yesterday was anything to go buy he had exactly the right players for a 4-4-2, Ramsey and Elneny the midfield pair, Alexis and Iwobi on the wings, Giroud and Welbeck up top. But no its still square pegs in round hole stuff. Arsene can’t even revert to a 4-3-3 to complement the many central midfielders he has and occasionally rotate his squad, so no I won’t be holding my breath.
That flick on for Alexis. Woof. If Suarez or Neymar or heck even Martial had done that, the entire world would have their panties in a bunch.
Agreed. Loved watching that on repeat!
He played well yesterday but bottom line is..he’s not good enough. His season as a whole has proved that, he should be part of the squad but if we find ourselves come August with the same strikers with Wengers “I have faith ” blah blah blah” then we’re just stagnating.. it’s clear we need something more upfront.
Poor Welbz though!
I’ve been expecting a top striker for the past two summers, so ultimately I don’t expect Wenger to miraculously address the issue this summer. Maybe were sign a young striker who has the potential to become a top striker but don’t expect a Griezmann or Aubamayang to arrive although the likes of Gazidis will encourage these rumours to manipulate the fans in to buying their season tickets for another year. Also find it very unlikely we will sign Xhaka despite it supposedly being a “done deal”. Wenger has basically already repudiated the need to sign a top midfielder with the… Read more »
We’ll fail to finish top 4 next season without significant investment. We need at least 4 possibly 5 players to win the league and it just won’t happen.
With Chelsea, either Man City or Utd, and possibly Liverpool not having the distraction of Champions League next year and all in the hands of improved management, this current team definitely won’t finish above at least 2 of them. Add in Leicester and Spurs and Wenger’s going to leave us in a right mess at the end of next season.
Yeah, we haven’t heard that before…!
“We’ll fail to finish top 4 next season without significant investment.” –
have heard the same statement at the start, middle, last but one game before the end of the season and at the end of the season. still cant believe its been repeated like clockwork since i think the 06 season but still there you go, say it enough it might actually come true.
We have an ageing team and are on the decline. We’ll finish this season off with at least 4 points less than last, thats the direction this squad is going in. Will a 35 year old Cech will be better next year? An defence with a 32 year old Mertesacker, 31 year old Koscielny, and 31 year old Monreal will be better? Cazorla better at 32? Will Giroud become a 20+ league goal a season man at 30? That’s a pretty hefty shopping list and the replacements aren’t in the squad Gabriel isn’t the answer to replace our defenders, so… Read more »
A good analysis of Giroud’s (and Arsenal’s) season from the official premier league site:
http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/2015-16/apr/010416-colin-trainor-on-arsenal-expected-goals.html
We need a new striker but someone who will compete with Giroud but we can’t let him to be sold. He is a great striker and just below the world class line because of his bad mental preparation. He didn’t scored for 15 games but how many of those he played for more than 20 minutes? He also had a few important assists and he wasn’t playing badly in first few games when he didn’t score. Offtopic: Yesterday I said those two goals weren’t Cech’s fault and I got comment Cech is letting more goals from outside penalty area that… Read more »
Yeah, right.
Cech was painfully slow to get down for both goals against Citeh. And he’s made at least two other clangers this season (West Ham, Palace) … mind you, without him we would have conceded 10-15 more over the course of the season so I’ll let him off.
Kos and Gabriel partnership, no.
Why the fuck didn’t we sign Winston Reid or Robert Huth?
Quick, put a big in for Chris Samba before it’s too late
The joy of football is the beauty, battle and uncertainty, especially in the EPL. The uncertainty also brings a big dose of humility and pain, something some Arsenal fans have decided they should be able to manage and dictate themselves. As the league becomes less predictable, and it is becoming less predictable, those minority of fans will experience “change”. We can lament Giroud and his struggles. We should also remember much of his drought came when he was not played. His stats year over year, games played, goals per minute justify him saying…” Imagine, numbers prove had I been played… Read more »
“Amazingly, even though Giroud hadn’t scored in the league since the 3-3 draw with Liverpool in January his performance yesterday means he’s now been directly involved in 27 Arsenal goals this season (21 goals / 6 assists) – the same number as Mesut Ozil.”
And it’s far better than Cech! All hail Olivier!!
Seriously, can we truly compare the inputs of these two at the same level? I don’t think so… Btw, i’m a Giroud’s defender!
For me, I really do not understand the criticism Giroud receives. He works so hard every game and maintain a professional attitude when not playing. His forward link up play is some of the best I have seen from a striker of his style and his efficiency is a lot better than people make out. His major weakness is that his attacking style heavily relies on good service from the wings. During Giroud’s drought it was not that he was missing chances but chances weren’t being created for him. He is usually lucky to get one good chance a game… Read more »
But Sanchez makes stuff happens. It’s the same concept (high risk, high reward) with Sanchez, Walcott and Ox. But Sanchez rewards have always been higher % when compared to Walcott.
When Sanchez runs towards defenders, you know something’s gonna happen. When Walcott runs towards the defenders, you know what’s gonna happen. He’s gonna lose the ball, stumble over etc.
Matt, I agree on Oli but disagree on Alexis. Therefor unable to thumb accurately!
Absolutely ridiculous comments. Why always blame Giroud? Welbeck hasn’t exactly been scoring either. Then there’s Walcott. Giroud had a fine vein of form and has put in 20 goals. Plus he added two assists and a goal in recent games. This over exaggerated ‘goal drought’ doesn’t take into account he hasn’t started many of those games or played the full 90 in all of them either. He is the sort of player that needs consistency to perfect his timing. Plus when he isn’t scoring he contributes to the team significantly as can be seen in the two latest assist. He… Read more »
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160509/the-breakdown-man-city-a- For all those who seem to have delusions with the ‘quality’ of Elneny and lack thereof of Giroud, check out Adrian Clarke’s assessment on Arsenal.com above. As mentioned : 1) Giroud’s overall display was outstanding and he has scored one , laid two assists in the last 2 matches. Why moan about him? Moan about Walcott or Welbeck. They aren’t exactly pumping them in either where Giroud has 20 goals. 2) Elneny. Again how some seem to convince themselves that Elneny is better than what he is is throughly amusing. He is not a DM. PLenty of fingers pointing… Read more »
We can’t criticize welbeck because he has been out injured for a while and everyone has been criticizing Theo for his poor performances.
Giroud has scored 13 in the league…that is poor for the first choice of a big team. Defoe has scored just as much with Sunderland.
Giroud has been rightly been criticized because he isn’t consistent enough. Look at the top 4 and check their Strikers.
I’ve looked at the top 4. Almost all of Giroud’s and Alexis’ goals (Arsenal’s goals, in fact) have been contested in a pretty crowded penalty area (2 banks of 4 is the regular opposition to our style of play and we have to break that defence down as a team, so scoring opportunities fall to more of our players but they are often mere half-chances in a crowded area). If you watch Leicester you will see that most of their goals are not closely contested as they are done via long balls (and done very well, I might say). Their… Read more »
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nly people who don’t understand football, slate Giroud. He was more delighted that he got the assist for the 2nd goal than his goal that ended ‘the drought. He could easily take the free kicks and penalties to up his goal tally, but he’s all about the team and that makes him the first name on my starting 11 every time!
You have just compared us to other teams and why we are so shit…
Two banks of four? It’s like that because we attempt to play slow motion tika taka while our opponents have loads of time to have a cup of tea and get organised into two banks of four.
Arsenal 1 Swansea 2 Dec 2012
Do any of these guys have the best number 10 in the world playing behind them?? How can ozil create all the chances he does and only 11 percent gets converted? Giroud has had great midfielders behind him…so no, there isn’t anything giroud is doing for us that an average striker like Defoe or heck Darren Bent wouldn’t do with us. People trying to say Giroud is underrated or “is a false 9” or “acts as a springboard to our attackd” are just making lame excuses. He is a decent striker at best who has no business being first choice… Read more »
ALways wonder how those “chances created” are counted as at times you can read “ozil created 5 chances” but can’t remember a single good chance they had in the match. I bet corners and crosses in the box that are headed are counted?
As mentioned by some, I think HFB would make a great plan B and substitute striker. With our injury record, even if Arsene did bring in that superstar striker this summer, he’d probably get banjaxed for a few months so having Giroud step in could be very useful.
Happy his drought is over. France will probably benefit more than Arsenal though.
It is really hard to find a backup striker of Giroud’s quality. If he went to Real he would be their 2nd best CF (though they only have one real CF in benzema…). He also nearly always makes an impact as a substitute and is effective when opponents defend with 10 men and you need physical presence in the box. Thought he was brilliant against city and if someone else had played like that for another team all the fans would want them here. What Arsenal need is to buy a quality first choice striker and keep Giroud and Welbeck… Read more »