There have been hundreds of posts on JustArsenal from AKBs and AOBs regularly this season, but it seems that the Arsenal players are totally 100% behind Le Boss. Yes we know that the squad has been severely depleted by injuries but Olivier Giroud (who was one of those that have missed a good part of the season) says that there has been nothing wrong with the attitude of Wenger, but does believe that the commitment of the players could have been questioned at times.
Giroud said in an exclusive interview in the Mail: ‘Talent is not sufficient and every team needs to fight to be competitive,’ he said. ‘We had a lack of commitment and we have seen it on the video and we made mistakes like we are young players. We have seen it but we want to learn from them and not do it again.
‘We know that we are strong, we have a good squad, that we have a lot of qualities in the squad but without sometimes commitment. And maybe when you are not at 100 per cent sometimes, then you pay.’
The French striker thinks that the attitude of the booing fans after the Stoke defeat was definitely a harsh reaction against Wenger. He said: ‘We heard the people, the supposed Arsenal fans criticise some of us, especially the boss,’
‘It was sad. I’m not sure he deserved it. It’s always like that when you lose a game. You have to question yourself, of course. But you can’t say we have to change everything. He is the man for this situation and we aren’t even wondering if he is or not.’
‘Of course, it is because they want us to win our games. We play for Arsenal and we are a big team and they quite demanding with us and we understand that they are disappointed as well. That’s why we want to show our strength and our reaction.’
‘We will show solidarity and answer on the pitch. It gives us more strength to fight together. We are a pack and when someone attacks the pack everyone wants to defend our interest and our team-mates, our boss.
‘We are all together. It was a really bad start at Stoke, especially when you are aware that we’re going to have a lot of duels in the air. It’s even more disappointing but for fans and for us, we will bounce back as soon as possible. We have a great opportunity to do it at home against Newcastle. We want to reach the top four as soon as possible.’
The fans don’t need to be told that we have had one of our worst starts to the season under Wenger, but Giroud thinks that it is still much too early to write off the Gunners. ‘It’s never too late because there are two-thirds of the season to go, even if Chelsea had a fantastic start, Man City as well. We need to improve on certain points and that’s why we need to focus on our game and come back in the next one.
‘We’ve kept our best players for two or three years since I came. The fans wanted some more top players and the boss heard them and tried to bring in Mesut (Ozil) and Alexis (Sanchez) and the other signings. We all want to reach a high performance level and win some more trophies.
‘That’s why it is a great beginning of a great story with the FA Cup win last year and the Community Shield. And this year we need time to build a great team but in the squad we have the quality and the quantity so I’m not worrying about our comeback.’
So there you have it! Don’t give up on Wenger or the team for this season. As soon as our injury list gets shorter (as surely it must at some point!) the team are determined to work together to get us back up the table and challenging for the title.
Na Na Na Giroud!