Olivier Giroud's Misery Deepens After Disastrous Night in Zagreb for Arsenal

Olivier Giroud needs to be careful: If he continues on this trajectory, his Arsenal career could go up in flames.

After being the undisputed first-choice striker a matter of months ago, he now finds himself the subject of ire from pundits, referees and fans alike—and his horrendous performance in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb has done little to help.

It’s bizarre: Earlier this year, he embarked on a run of 10 goals in 10 games that dispelled many of the doubts about his ability. He was briefly the toast of north London.

However, some harsh criticism from Arsenal legend Thierry Henry seemed to suck the confidence out of his compatriot.

Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t the Daily Mail), Henry said: "I think Giroud is doing extremely well. But can you win the league with him? I wouldn't think so. He does a job, and he does it ever so well, but you can't win the league."

Giroud, as he does too often, took the words to heart. The stinging criticism prompted a barren run that ultimately saw him lose his starting place for the FA Cup final against Aston Villa.

He has not been a guaranteed starter this season, either. In each of Arsenal’s last two Premier League games, Theo Walcott has got the nod as the Gunners’ centre-forward. In the same period, Giroud found himself booed off by the France fans after a misfiring display against Serbia.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Perhaps those mounting frustrations contributed to what happened in Zagreb. With Arsene Wenger taking the opportunity to rotate his team, Giroud knew he had an opportunity to make his case to the manager and prove his critics wrong. However, that desire to impress bubbled over into an erratic performance that ended up doing more harm than good to his standing at Arsenal. 

His sending-off is what will have made headlines across Europe, but in reality the paucity of quality in his performance was almost as startling. On a night when Arsenal needed someone to provide them with a muscular focal point, Giroud’s hold-up play was desperately poor.

That led to him being in a foul mood and being justifiably booked for dissent when a decision did not go his way. Arsenal can have no arguments.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

His second booking was more harsh, and speaking to the Arsenal website after the game, Wenger leapt to the defence of his forlorn forward:

"

The first yellow card was Giroud’s fault because he protested, even if there was no foul against him. After that he should have not protested to the referee. His second yellow card was completely unlucky to touch the guy. I do not understand the referee.

I don’t think he [Giroud] saw the guy. It was completely accidental. It happened and I think at that moment it was not a second yellow. It has to be a foul on purpose and it was not on purpose. The referee should have given several yellows tonight based on that.

"

That’s typical of the Gunners boss, who tends to back his players publicly. However, he will know that by picking up the first booking so stupidly, then entering into a risky challenge with a high foot, Giroud gave the referee a chance to send him off. With his experience, he ought to be more astute than that. Giroud is almost 29: It’s time for him to cut out the histrionics and act like a man.

More pressure will have been piled on him by the fact that Walcott emerged from the bench to score another well-taken goal. At the moment, he looks like the Arsenal’s best option at centre-forward. Giroud, by contrast, looks a mess.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.