Ever since the big centre forward came to Arsenal fresh off the back of topping the scoring charts with 21 goals to help his club Montpellier to their first ever French Ligue 1 title, Olivier Giroud has been the target of scorn for some Arsenal fans.
I understand that many were not happy about him being the replacement for Robin van Persie at the time but that was hardly his fault and he certainly did better for us than Wenger’s other striker signing of that summer, Lukas Podolski.
Yes the Frenchman has missed chances and some easy looking ones at that. He has had periods in which his form and confidence have dropped considerably and I certainly agree with the theory that Arsenal need more than just Giroud to fire us to the Premier League title.
At the same time, Giroud is still our best option at centre forward and he has done a good and fairly consistent job in his four seasons as a Gunner. Of course a lot of us are still hoping that Wenger adds another striker to the Arsenal squad before the transfer window closes, but if he does not do this week I think we are all hoping to see Giroud lead our attack against Watford.
Don’t forget that Alexandre Lacazette, who a lot of Gooners want Wenger to splash big money to sign, did not even make the France squad for Euro 2016, while Giroud was the first choice forward and ended up winning the bronze boot at the tournament.
So in light of the situation and how Arsenal have struggled without him, is it time for Arsenal fans to appreciate Olivier a bit more?
Bob.