Has Giroud proved his talent this EURO 2016?
I know I won’t be the first one to say it but the Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has really come to light in these 2016 European Championships, with the Frenchman having yet another impressive display last night.
Giroud came into the tournament a little out of form with Arsenal (although he had scored a hat trick on the final day of the season) but had been ever present with France, scoring many goals for his national side on his team’s preparations for the Euro’s and then so far having scored 3 goals in 5 appearances at the tournament .
Giroud has come under a lot of pressure from both club and country sets of fans and at one point of which Giroud was booed by his national team supporters. With Benzema not being picked for France however, there was a lot riding on Giroud to lead the line with some top quality performances and he has done just that. Giroud has been ever present in front of goal and even though we have again seen some of his struggles with consistency, Giroud is performing excellently so far on the big stage of a major tournament.
Now of course a few good performances here and there doesn’t necessarily tell us anything with Giroud, because as we all know the Frenchman does have an eye for goal, it’s just his consistency that he really struggles with. All I’m suggesting is that so far in these Championships he is shining brightly and he is showing that he can perform at the highest levels of the professional game. With one or possibly two more games remaining, Giroud is in with a real shot at winning the golden boot this summer, if only he could replicate such form with Arsenal on a more consistent basis.
It raises the topic of debate that I’ve had a long standing opinion on surrounding Giroud for a while. I do not think he should be Arsenal’s main striker and I don’t think he should be leading the front line alone. However I do think there is space in this team for Giroud and he has a good set of traits, such as his hold up play and his consistency of heading the ball, which can be utilised by Arsenal when needed. Therefore Arsenal would be maximising his abilities at what Giroud is good at, rather than expecting him to beat defenders with pace and be the energetic striker that simply does not fit in with his style of play. With this in mind I think it’s so important that whilst we do look to secure the services of a top class attacking talent, that we also don’t completely write off Giroud, because as the Frenchman has proved this summer, he does have the strength and ability to perform on the biggest stages.
AH