Olivier Giroud has worked his whole career to defy those who have said he wasn’t up to the task, starting in the lower divisions of French football.
The price tag dictated the general attitude towards him as a player. Giroud, a title winner in France’s Ligue 1 and a scorer of 21 league goals, the most that season, was deemed not good enough when Arsenal spent £10 million on him in July 2012.
The thing is he was being judged against the class and calibre of Robin van Persie – an unfair comparison for almost any striker in English football. Instead of asking what a new-look strike force could do for Arsenal, one which included Lukas Podolski, people were questioning whether Giroud was yet another bargain signing from French football.
It’s nothing new, though. People will question anything. Like whether Neymar is just a YouTube sensation. You have to wonder whether they believe what they’re saying or if they’re just out to ruffle a few feathers.
Nevertheless, Giroud, like most, was owed a period of adaptation to the Premier League. Memories of van Persie would have flashed across most people’s minds in last season’s opening game against Sunderland when Giroud missed a good opportunity for his first league goal. Yet even as the season progressed and he earned himself 17 in total and a place in the hearts of the Arsenal faithful, the overtures towards Luis Suarez and Gonzalo Higuain this past summer were wrongly labelled as indirect attacks on the Frenchman rather than what they were – a club looking to bolster its attacking options.
This season we’ve seen another set of defiant performances from Giroud. He doesn’t have the grace and fluidity of van Persie, Dennis Bergkamp or Thierry Henry, but that doesn’t matter. Giroud has made Arsenal’s Plan A stronger by adding the elements of a different way of attacking. He offers the powerful target man approach without ever compromising the team’s preferred style of play. If there is a doubt about his technical ability, take a look at his involvement in that Jack Wilshere goal against Norwich.
Can he finish? Many good centre-forwards go through scoring droughts, including van Persie; four club games is no cause for alarm. With 10 already in all competitions, there’s no reason why Giroud can’t register 20-plus goals for Arsene Wenger’s side. As a reference, seven of those 10 have been in the league. The league’s top scorer, Sergio Aguero, has 10.
Giroud’s desire to prove that he belongs has forced him onto a long table seating Arsenal’s most improved players. Of course, there was never anything really wrong with the former Montpellier striker. That first season in English football, however, a bridge as I like to think of it, has done wonders for his overall contribution and confidence.
He looks like a player who is enjoying the responsibility, never buckling under its weight. Against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Giroud was one of the few who seemed unfazed and wholly determined to put in a shift, closing down and harassing the backline. He won’t force his way through defences in the way Luis Suarez can – they’re completely different players. Yet his work rate cannot be questioned this season.
As a player still short of breaking into that category of world-class strikers, there shouldn’t be any lasting concern. A far more fitting comparison for Giroud would be to look at his similarities to Didier Drogba, another alumnus from Ligue 1 who was seen as a late bloomer.
Arsenal’s lack of success in finding another striker in the summer may be seen as something of a positive. They now know what they have in Giroud. The player himself is full of confidence and knows what he’s capable of. There is room for improvement for both club and player, but the trust instilled in Giroud is proving to be invaluable in his transition and further development as a high-end striker.