Apart from the first Champions League leg at the Emirates stadium, the Arsenal and France international star Olivier Giroud has been in blistering form, with his all round contribution to the cause as well as his finishing power in front of goal.
But the striker still feels that he let the Arsenal fans and his team mates down by missing a handful of great chances against the French Ligue 1 club. But as much as he feels bad when he has a poor game, the Frenchman has an unshakeable belief in his own abilities and knows that one bad game does not make him a bad player.
As the Daily Star have reported, Giroud does still feel that Arsenal have a good chance of overturning the 3-1 scoreline and progressing to the quarter-finals of the elite European competition for the first time in five years. And while our centre forward is determined to make up for his off key performance in the home leg, Giroud is not letting it affect him as he thrives on confidence and has a strong mentality, something he believes is essential to his success on the pitch.
He said, “I take a lot of pressure on the pitch. But when I ‘miss’ a game, if I can say that, you know I try to bounce back as quick as I can.
“If you let the doubts enter your head it’s even more difficult to cope. There are always tough moments like that because we do a hard job.
“You have to question yourself every week and bounce back. I try to show my answer on the pitch with my mentality.
“Football is a sport where you need to have a strong mentality because you have to face some difficulties. It’s like life.
“Even when you play well and score a lot of goals, if you miss one game everything is forgotten. You have to have a conscience about it and be aware.
“Don’t believe the people who talk too much about football. I’m not used to reading the media. I know when I play well or not. I know how to bounce back.
“I used to say that football is an everlasting new beginning. You have to be aware of that and do it.
“We know we have to do a fantastic job to go through in the Champions League. It will be exciting for us. Do I really believe we can do it? Of course.”
If Giroud plays like he did against West Ham, where his brilliant goal took him onto 14 for the season from just 17 starts and seven sub appearances, you would not be surprised to see Arsenal´s name in the draw for the next round. But will he get as many chances in Monaco?