Arsenal fans will be hoping and expecting more than just a positive attitude from the France international striker Olivier Giroud tomorrow, if Arsene Wenger selects him to play against Everton at the Emirates stadium that is.
But having the right attitude will be a good place to start for the big Frenchman after he put in one of the worst displays we have seen from him since he came to Arsenal nearly three years ago. But it was not the first time that Giroud has missed chances.
In his debut season the centre forward often struggled at his new club and while a bit of confidence clearly helps, Giroud did not hide when things were going wrong and has proven his ability to shrug off disappointments and bounce back before. And that is exactly what he told Arsenal Player that he would do again.
He was not trying to make excuses either and accepted that his game against Monaco was far from being good enough. But although admitting to embarrassment and being personally hurt by his poor showing, the striker will be even more determined to make up for it against the Toffees tomorrow.
He said, “I am not a better or worse player than three days ago, it is just about confidence and keeping [strong].
“I am really hurting, more than disappointed, it has been embarrassing for me. But I have never given up in my career and sometimes I have had tough games like that before.
“It was difficult because nothing went right, everything was tough for me. I tried to keep focused but I understood why the boss wanted to substitute me. It was not my day.
“When you are a striker people expect more from you. I did well recently and scored a lot of goals, but when you miss chances it is like that – you have to question yourself. I will keep working hard and bounce back as soon as possible.”
As somebody pointed out on Wednesday night, Giroud did at least keep getting in positions to score and did not go missing despite being completely wayward with his finishing. What is the betting that if he scores tomorrow he will go on to get another?