Olivier Giroud Is Not Top Drawer, but He Could Still Lead Arsenal to the Title

A statue of Thierry Henry stands outside the Emirates Stadium, with Dennis Bergkamp’s silhouette also casting a shadow over fans entering the venue. Arsenal are a club that have come to be defined by their great strikers and the great goals they have scored. Olivier Giroud, however, is widely deemed to be some way short of such company.

Indeed, the French striker is maligned by his own as much as he is by others. Arsenal supporters have never truly been won over by the forward, with many urging Arsene Wenger to seek a higher calibre centre-forward in the transfer market. Giroud, by the definition of more than just a few, isn’t good enough.

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For all his faults—of which there are undeniably a few—though, Giroud deserves better. The forward has scored 19 times in just 22 appearances for club and country this season, and yet with every performance, he is seemingly required to prove himself. The Frenchman doesn’t get the credit he warrants.

His goal tally of 51 goals in 114 appearances for the north London club might not rank him alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but it makes him one of the most reliable goalscorers in the Premier League. Giroud might need three opportunities to find the net, but at least the chances fall his way. 

The same cannot be said for many of the Frenchman’s peers. Take Diego Costa, for instance, who now seems more concerned with starting fights than scoring goals. Or Wayne Rooney, whose decline has accelerated dramatically over the past season or so.

On current form, both Chelsea and Manchester United would take Giroud over what they have.

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Wenger has faith in his striker, though. “If you look at the number of goals he has scored, you have to give him credit,” the Gunners boss explained earlier this month, per Paul Doyle of the Guardian. “And he is not only a goalscorer—he works a lot for the team. He is among the best strikers in Europe.”

It’s true that there are greater, more clinical strikers out there, but with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Luis Suarez and Neymar all tied up by the biggest and best clubs in Europe, it’s not as if there are any better options available for the Gunners. He might sit on the second tier, but Giroud is the best Arsenal can get. 

But still, Giroud is not short of his detractors. Even Henry—arguably the greatest centre-forward in Arsenal’s history—has cast doubt on whether his countryman is good enough to lead the line for the Gunners. As the former Barcelona man sees it, Giroud “does a job, but you can’t win the league [with him]," per Sky Sports (h/t Anthony May of MailOnline). That theory will be tested this season.

Wenger’s side have given themselves the best chance in a decade of winning the Premier League. Monday’s win over Manchester City made them title favourites for many, with the Gunners showing the kind of big-game nerve they have desperately lacked in recent seasons.

Giroud’s second goal in that victory proved the difference between the teams and illustrated the impact he can have, even on the very best teams.

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Contrary to Henry’s beliefs, Giroud is good enough to lead Arsenal to the Premier League title, but that might reflect poorly on the quality of the field. Arsenal aren’t necessarily better than last season, with Wenger keeping together the same squad over the summer, but they have managed to maintain a consistency that others at the top end of the Premier League haven’t. The Gunners’ long-term stability might finally be paying off.

Wenger’s trust in his players might also be paying off. Aaron Ramsey, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Francis Coquelin and Theo Walcott have all faced criticism from fans and press over the course of their careers, but all five of them have fulfilled their promise, repaying the faith shown in them by the Arsenal manager. Giroud has now gone some way to doing that, too.

The Frenchman might not have reached his peak, either. It’s worth recalling the extent to which Giroud has improved since joining Arsenal from Montpellier three years ago, demonstrating his capacity for adaptation.

At first, his touch was poor—certainly not good enough to conduct the fast-flowing attacking moves Wenger demands from his teams. His finishing was below par as well, lacking the natural instinct needed to succeed as a centre-forward in the Premier League. 

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However, persistence is one of Giroud’s best qualities, and he has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. That spirit almost embodies that of Arsenal’s as a whole right now, with the realisation of the Gunners’ general quality at the moment only just beginning to dawn on even their biggest doubters. 

At the age of 29, Giroud might have found his top level as a centre-forward, but with experience, the Frenchman’s game might actually get better. Mobility and energy aren't exactly his greatest assets, so the effects of age might not be so profound on Giroud. The Gunners might still eke a good few years out of the frontman.

With strikers, so much is about confidence, and after everything that has been thrown his way, Giroud might have found some. He is a streaky player, so with self-belief invariably comes everything else. Maintaining that confidence might be Wenger’s biggest man-management task.

“As for myself, in sport you have to question yourself every week and be ready in your head and you have to be at 100 per cent of determination if you want to keep going and win games; you cannot afford to be at 80 per cent or 90 per cent,” Giroud elaborated, as per Dominic Fifield of the Guardian.

“You have to have faith in your own qualities, that is part of being a footballer: being strong in your head. That is more than half of the quality you need to be a football player.”