Even though the France international striker Olivier Giroud would probably be the Arsenal player that would be most likely to miss out on his regular game time if Arsene Wenger was to sign the top class striker that it seems the whole world thinks Arsenal need, our centre forward has admitted that the Gunners could certainly have done with Karim Benzema joining the club from Real Madrid this summer.
As we now know once and for all, this transfer from Real Madrid is not going to happen and unless the manager has an ace up his sleeve, it looks like Giroud is going to be our first choice centre forward once more this season, with a little competition from Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott.
Giroud told the French media, as reported by The Mirror, that he would have liked to see his international team mate come to Arsenal and that he understands the calls from the fans every year for the boss to spend some big money in the transfer market. But he also has confidence in his own ability and although he has not showed his best form so far this season, Giroud has come through patches like this before.
He said, “It is true that every year here there is speculation about a new striker signing.
“There were seasons when we signed [Alexis] Sanchez and [Danny] Welbeck, others when we were talking about [Luis] Suarez.
“It is obvious that in a club, a team, where a lot is expected, we need several good attackers and I understand that the fans want that we spend more money.
“It is not up to me to answer this question, the coach knows very well what he is doing, and sometimes you should not buy just to buy, and sometimes there are not players out there that you need, who are available.
“We have a very good squad, with quality, and I am sure that with this squad we can go very far.
“Aside from that, it would have been good if Karim had signed too, eh?
“Maybe that nickname (lamppost) I deserved after the game against Monaco, but I didn’t play my game.
“It makes me smile more than anything else because I know when I am good or not. There you are going back several months, but I understand that you want to talk about the subject.
“It is true that Titi (Henry) said certain things in his new role as a pundit, he was quite harsh even if we can understand what he was saying.
“I would have preferred that he said these things face to face, but I am not going to go back into it.
“It is finished, all of that is finished. I haven’t lost any confidence, I bounced back really well after that match.
“I think it shows that I have good mental strength, now I think that if we are going to do something great this season we will do it together.
“And I think that the boss knows that we have a very competitive team with lots of quality.”
I agree but I also feel that Wenger could have done a lot more to at least try to attract a top’ class striker to north London this summer. If Giroud admits that he needs help, what more do you need to know?