It's Time Olivier Giroud's Importance to France Was Recognised

Every team needs a scapegoat. Even when things are going well, when the goals are flowing and the wins are racking up, there is always a scapegoat readied to be sacrificed, just in case. France find themselves in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, unbeaten and largely unscathed. Yet Olivier Giroud has become their scapegoat. 

Giroud is everyone’s scapegoat, it seems. At Arsenal, he is often the target of an entire support’s pent-up frustrations of the past decade, taking the blame for things that have generally nothing to do with him. It’s something the striker must be accustomed to by now. It’s been this way for him ever since he arrived at the Emirates Stadium four years ago.

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But the stigma surrounding Giroud appears to have crossed the English Channel. In France, he has been the subject of more scrutiny than any other of Didier Deschamps’ players this summer. If Les Blues fail to win their own tournament, the 29-year-old will likely find his face on dartboards across the country. 

It’s time Giroud was cut some slack, though. He doesn’t deserve the criticism he gets for club and country. In fact, it’s time the striker was recognised as arguably the most important component in Deschamps’ team. France need him to play well. They don’t necessarily need him to score goals, but they are only sabotaging their country’s own chances by so harshly criticising the striker.

Giroud hasn’t even been given a chance by his countrymen. He was booed by his own supporters in a number of warm-up games before the start of the competition, despite scoring four of his team’s last seven goals. It didn’t seem to matter. France’s mind had already been made up. 

It was the same for Les Blues’ opening-night game against Romania at the Stade de France. Giroud opened the scoring with a headed goal, but his performance was deemed below-par. As was his performance against Albania in the second group game. Deschamps shared that view, and the France manager benched the Arsenal man for the following fixture against Switzerland. 

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But that match only served to prove how reliant France are on Giroud. With Andre-Pierre Gignac deployed as the focal point of the front line, the hosts were slow, sluggish and short of creativity in the final third. If their supporters thought they were bad with the Arsenal star playing, they were even worse without him. 

France are at their best when they play to Giroud’s strengths. They did that in the second half of their last-16 clash against the Republic of Ireland, dismantling Martin O’Neill’s side. They fought back from 1-0 down to turn the match around, largely down to the Gunners forward’s quality at the apex of the French attack. He didn’t find the net, but his contribution and link-up play with Antoine Griezmann in particular was integral to the outcome.

There are certain players in football who struggle for acclaim outside professional circles. Michael Carrick falls into that category, with his former team-mates hailing his ability, while fans question his place in the lineup. Giroud is another one of those players. His teamwork and effort often goes unnoticed by those watching on television or sitting in the stands, but it doesn’t go unseen by those on the pitch. His team-mates are staunchly defensive of the striker and what he brings.

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"Those who whistled Olivier Giroud weren't hurting only him but also us as well,” Griezmann told French radio station RMC (via ESPN FC) after the opening-night win over Romania. "We did everything so that he might score, so that he feels confident with us and he responded on the pitch.”

The second-half performance against Ireland last week provided France with a precedent from which to follow for the remainder of the tournament. For all their talent and technical ability, Les Blues are at their best when they follow a rather old-fashioned tactical game plan. 

With Giroud as the focal point of the attack and Griezmann, Payet and Anthony Martial filling in the space around the central striker, France look their most balanced. That’s how Deschamps set up his team for the second half against Ireland, and that’s how he must continue to set up his team going forward. 

Against Iceland, the hosts will likely be frustrated, just like Portugal, Hungary, Austria and England have been so far at these championships. The Scandinavians will sit deep and look to absorb whatever is thrown at them, packing the back line and plugging the gaps to keep things tight. It’s imperative that France stick with their plan. They can’t get flustered. They can’t unravel. 

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They must recognise just how much they need Giroud if they are to edge past Iceland and into the semi-finals. Particularly in a match that will likely see countless crosses swung into the box, France need someone who can act as a battering ram and a focal point. The Arsenal man is both of those things and more, even if so few are willing to accept it.

It’s true that Giroud probably won’t go down in the grand catalogue of the game’s great centre-forwards. He wouldn’t have a place in France’s starting lineup for Euro 2016 were Karim Benzema not suspended for the tournament. It’s also true that he doesn’t take as many opportunities as he should in front of goal.

However, Giroud’s game is about more than just goals. He is a more dependable goal-getter than he is widely given credit for, but he excels at making others excel. Griezmann is so defensive of his team-mate because he recognises just how much he needs the Arsenal man to play to the best of his own capabilities. Others don’t see that. 

Of course, the former Montpellier man isn’t the first French striker to divide opinion for the national team. Stephane Guivarc’h did that as the country’s starting striker for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Things didn't work out too badly for him. Maybe Giroud will enjoy the same sweet vindication this summer.