Olivier Giroud was much-maligned by Arsenal fans last season and we were all calling for Wenger to buy a new top class striker to displace him this summer, but hopefully yesterday’s sublime finish against Man City must have allayed some of our fears. Although it looked like an impossible shot, Giroud says that it was definitely what he was aiming for…”I had a look at the keeper and I was thinking that he was a bit too much forward from his line,” he said on Arsenal.com. “I tried instinctively to shoot and to hit the target. I was a bit lucky but that’s what I wanted to do.”
The French international then went on to say that thesquad can only get fitter, and thatthecompetition forstarting spotswill improve the team even further. He said: “I came back just two weeks ago but when I came back I felt the squad looked really solid and with a really good commitment and spirit,”
“I have good feelings about our game and in training we joined with Laurent and Mathieu really early last week to play in the games. I feel we will be stronger than last year so we will wait for our Germans and see if we can reach our goals this season.
“After an international competition… you come back and you are late in your preparation so you have to come back stronger and to reach your legs. That’s what I tried to do and last week I was not ready. This week, I feel better and hopefully for the first game next weekend I will be ready.
“When we are all together, there will be a good competition on the pitch. I think it will be good for all the players to have a great competition. I think we will be stronger than last year. We did well until March so I think with a really good squad with the quality and the quantity now we will do better.”
One of favourite stats from last season was that Giroud played more games than Liverpool, but weall know that hewas in need of a rest at many points of the season. Hopefully with Sanogo around to take the pressure off we will see a more relaxed and fitter Giroud this season. He just has to start going to bed early before important games, on his own I mean!
Great to have an article
about Giroud for a change 🙂
@davidnz
Yep! Been waiting to say a thing or 2 bout that fairy footed French muthf**ka…
There. I said it.
@NY_Gunner
I hope you and your family are well.
@Andrew AFC
Back at ya AFC…
Thumbs down for being genuine that says it all 🙂 Who would like a thumbs up 🙂
@Andrew AFC
I don’t pay the “Thumb Fairies” any mind dude. Like they say, “Haterz gonna hate”
@NY_Gunner
I am thick skinned but I don’t understand why people would give thumbs down to a fellow Arsenal supporter asking how they are.
That’s only the case with Hafiz right?
Haha no but you’re right, you sometimes get the feeling there are some hidden spuds around here..
a bit less hating comments would be nice
Yeah, so do I.
Giroud looks like he is turning into a super sayin hopefully he will raise his game to another level this year
Giroud, you are lucky enough that we have so patient Manager to go all along last season and probably this season (hope not).
Imagine, Mourine or Sir has Giroud upfront, probably he is a dead body now.
DM AND striker and I would say we are genuinely title contender.
HAHAHA, I can’t take your comment seriously. If Moaninho took a 33 year old, washed up Samuel Eto’o to lead his line up and still kept ‘5 goals a season’ Torres then Giroud would easily get in the Chelsea 11, let’s not mention Ba. Sir Alex on the other hand, yes maybe. He is as scary and ruthless as it gets but he probably would’ve have never bough Giroud in the first place anyway.
i thoughy you were going to reply to this article like this:
No, Giroud, I am happy
lol
Maybe you might score 30 goals this season if thats the case.
I think Giroud can get better this season because instead of Bendtner challenging him for his position, its Sanchez, Campbell, Walcott, Podolski, and Sangogo. We have lots of striker who are very capable of scoring. For me I would like to see Sanchez or Theo playing striker but we do have to rotate and give Giroud a chance. Especially after what he did yesterday.
But, watching Sanchez play at Udinese where he was the CF he was a beast in and out. Barca destroyed him by playing him on the right. I hope we don’t do the same. We can see how much better he is as striker as we saw him against Benefica. I think he could do very well as left winger if he plays as a left winger who controls the play like Ronaldo or Reus.
Even against City Giroud has shown he’s better as a sub coming from the bench so in order to really sustain a title challenge we need a 30goal a season striker who’ll be ahead of Giroud!
We have to be patient with Giroud, because, and that is a fact, nobody else is coming in (another striker).
We have been more than patient with Wenger so we should may be grace Giroud with the same courtesy 🙂
One thing Giroud does need to believe is that he should put all this talk into action and score important goals against big teams and not miss sitters.
@Matt
You know the old saying. Talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words. Just hit the net!!!!!
“Olivier Giroud was much-maligned by Arsenal fans last season and we were all calling for Wenger to buy a new top class striker”
And I think thats the phenomeneom of the internet managers. In the Emirates he got a lot of love. I never heard the fans booing him off like they did to Gervinho. The Arsenal forums were full of it last year the same way they were back of Wenger. The same ones that wanted a new manager and wishing Wenger wwould walk away after his contract expires. Giroud will always be loved cause he does what he is asked too. 30 goals a striker doesn’t defend corners. Its time fans get some prespective and stop belittling his contribution.
What I love about him is that he does the hardest thing on a football pitch. Fighting for a ball with your head after it has been in the air forever.
At around 81 minutes the ball gets played back to Schez who looks for OG way down the pitch and OG holds off a defender while having the ball hit his chest and the ball falls to his feet. He then calmly plays it out wide to TR7. Being up 3-0 we pass the ball around about 10 passes (till Flamini comes in with a foul) all because OG cradled the ball off his chest and we retained possession. How much are those 5 sometimes 10 times a game he does that worth.
Thank You Sumo
Well said. If we are to believe what we read on here (not suggesting for a moment that is always a good idea) then if we buy a “beast” CDM and a “30 goals a season” striker then we win everything in sight for the foreseeable future. Begs a couple of questions:
1) If true, why would Wenger deliberately NOT do this to ensure we win nothing?
2) Is it really that simple?
3) Out of curiosity, what do people reckon the score would have been at Stamford Bridge, Anfield last season if say, take the latest flavour of the month, William Carvalho, played instead of Arteta?
I imagine the more enquiring minds on here may ask themselves whether this touching but child-like simplicity in how to assemble and build a successful team really holds any truth. It may make inspire loud and colourful internet banter but I imagine there are more sophisticated arguments and theories to be had.
Totally Sumo!
Well said
@Andrew. Talk is not cheap.
Old feelandrea Bill Clinton
charges a million dollars for an
hours ramblings ahh I mean wise
inspirational key note speeches.
No right first time, Ramblings 🙂
@davidnz
I will beat Bill Clinton in an after dinner speak for a fraction of the price and give the proceeds to Arsenal to buy Reus 🙂
Giroud’s interview after the Community Shield the goal was a bit of luck. Come on put fear into our opposition and say you meant it.
@Andrew AFC
Exactly. He should have said”I was aiming for the keepers face, but I missed. Oh well..” Lmfao
If you are going for laughs, I apologize. What is next? Whining about the way Giroud parts his hair or the way he sits in a chair??? Please.
Giroud is NOT contracted to satisfy your delicate sensibilities. He is contracted to score – and he did.
Anybody else fearful of Ramsey’s exit next season. Surely he will be outstanding and i don’t see nothing holding back PSG or Madrid or Barcelona from bidding 100 millions for him. just saying.
No i don’t think Ramsey wants to leave so it doesn’t matter if other teams make offers
Hopefully and most likely not happening. We shouldn’t be losing players like Ramsey anymore. He would be key to attracting more top class players. Plus he probably has no intention of leaving.
I would never say never but when you listen to him speak, hear the modesty and sense the fire in his belly and also knowing what he and AW have been through it strikes me as inconceivable at the moment. I think worse case scenario is he will give his all for 4 or 5 years and consider his options for one big career move then. Anyhow, seems a strange thing to be fretting about at this moment in time.
we already have the epl, the ucl, the fa cup, and the carling cup. 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁
what more competition does giroud want??? 🙁 🙁 🙁
o o giroud… 🙁 🙁 🙁
@haywill
I am in a sarcastic mood how are you 🙂
Goodnight all, I hope you have a crap day tomorrow 🙂 🙂 🙂
A word for the wise-
Do not let anything disturb you of which you have no influence on.
And I specially mean the thumbs.
Thumbs are for babies, let them suck on it, while the grown ones talk of football.
Goodnight Andrew. Have a nice day tomorrow.
@Sumo
Real Talk…
I joined just arsenal fantasy league, how does it work
Any tips for beginner
I like Giroud… he has gotten better every year and he scores. end of story.
Giroud as terrible striker rate. Worse than Chamakh and Bendtner.
Get real mate or at least a different record.
We all agree the third goal was a sublime finish. Very well done by OG. He means business this season.
He is very inconsistent. He may have scored a goal but I don’t see him winning us big games.
The 2 most ignorant things a fan can say about a striker
1. He was absent/missing/anonymous/etc.
2. He is “inconsistent”
Have you ever watched football? Strikers do not score every game but ignorant fans call that inconsistent.
Also, when the midfielders do not get the ball to the striker the striker will thus be “missing” or some such nonsense in the eyes of ignorant fans. A striker must maintain his positioning even when the midfielders have trouble giving him the ball – to do otherwise is bad football.
Clearly many fans here have never coached or played or studied or watched football. Must be FIFA 14.
One thing a striker needs to have inorder to be successful “Instinct” which all top strikers
have like Suarez, Falcao,etc. Its not just about pace, skill or goal scoring ability. Giroud
will always be a good striker but never world class.
yep, he is god, and not injury prone, and a hard worker, and an Arenal lover, and has a good attitude, not bad tje lad
haha good not god
the mighty g-rod will get 20 goals this season and contribute to our title winning success am getting bored without some kind of transfer rumors happening wheres the rumor mongers at these days just a tid bit will do (even if it is fabricated don’t mind anymore at all at this moment in time)lol COYG
What would have happened if Balotelli had played the last game with Sanchez?? Something to ponder about!
Balotelli wud have walked around for half the game and hit a few wild ridiculous shots way over the bar.
I highly doubt Giroud will score 20 goals because Im confident Sanogo/Walcott/Campbell will
bench him.
i don’t think so Giroud played well last year until he got tired….he was overplayed and his performance suffered now we have the depth to not put that workload on his shoulders
Henry, Messi and Ronaldo also overplay but they never get tired.
hmmm, i think u r wrong mate, they have gotten tired, messi most recently, Henry had this tired face in that ucl final in 06, and Ronaldo…whch one the oriinal or the copy (they but got tired at one point any way)
Ny gunner why are you such a dik?
Trying supporting our players and not slagging them off, idiot.
@bolly-dolly
If I such a di*k, then blow me b*tch boi…
Transfer media more desperate than ever.
You can now see headlines announcing a new “multi-million” contract signing. Only to read 3 paragraphs down that Arsenal have signed a new contract with a company to clean the toilets or something just as thrilling and important.
Can’t wait for the season to start so everyone can see that giroud is NOT a starting striker and can not be guaranteed to win us games. Fans quickly forget just how much he negatively impacts our performance. Rock88 said it perfectly he is inconsistent.
Disagree. Rock88 has never said anything “perfectly” on here.
It is amazing that so many ignorant Arsenal fans are directing their venom at the top goal producer in the club.
News Flash: The top goal producer in the club is NOT the enemy.
I know Mohawk I wonder if they are really ticked off when he scores or assists a goal.
thamk you!
finally sense and facts!
We should sell Podolski.
We should trade some fans.
I don’t hate Podolski. I just don’t think he is needed at Arsenal. He is not good enough to start games over Ox and Walcott.
I don’t mind reading criticisms about players or managers for things they can control. But so many fans here viscously attack players for things they cannot control.
If you want to identify a problem with Giroud’s play – for example maybe his is continually offside or something, that is reasonable. Or if you are going for humor, no problem.
But all read is…… he sucks or he is “inconsistent” or is “not good enough” or something equally vague – I then dismiss you as a spuds fan invading Arsenal territory.
This site attracts some really ignorant and ungrateful fans.
We need a new quality striker. Giroud doesn’t win us big games so, we want him either on the bench or to sell him make us Arsenal hater.
Who the f**k is “we”? Have your opinion but don’t ever speak for anyone but your good self.
I agree. But needing a new striker does NOT make Giroud the enemy. Right now he is the best goal producer in the club. We should be grateful for that until something changes it.
hmmm back heel pass to Ramsey for the winning goal, FA cup.
3rd goal that puts the game to bed, Community shield (v Man City).
Those are big games
Terrible finisher. For a big man who is suppose to be dominant in the air, he really isn’t. And his supposed ammazing hold up play results in us giving away the ball a lot of the time. His ability to slow down and kill attacks is also a major flaw in his game. Sanogo has the legs of a new born deer but has shown more than giroud up front
Giroud is our main striker whether you like it are not, there will not be any more strikers coming in. I actually see giroud getting in the 20-25 goal range this year, Sanchez will be attracting a lot of attention, leaving giroud free to do is thing.
What i saw of Sanogo and Sanchez combo in the Community shield showed how dangerous pace could be in arsenal attack would have loved to have seen Campbell Sanchez and Sanogo up front, it might be more Beneficial for Giroud to come off the bench in several matches, but thats Left up to wenger
salem all
we still need a proper Dm and striker…not another winger or acm
To the “30 goals a season striker” loudspeakers, can you name a striker within our budget who is guaranteed to score 30goals evry season? Its so funny how some fans read rumours about players they dont know only to rush down here to start making noise about them. All they would they is their youtube clips.for evry santos they termed wengers bad signing are internet managers favourites like mvilla,felani etc who they wanted wenger to waist money on. To all giroud bashers,who claimed other strikers would score 30goals for all the chances wil created, man city,liverpool actually created more scoring chances than us which depicts that our midfielders need to create more to meet up with these teams and our fans must stop picking on players to attack. Its ridiculous when fans single out a player for our heavy defeat 4getting the whole 11 played poo in those matches.