The arrival of Olivier Giroud at Arsenal last season was greeted in largely positive fashion. Off the back of his best individual season which ended in Montpellier winning the Ligue 1 title, 3 points ahead of big spenders PSG, he scored 21 goals with 9 assists finishing as the league’s joint top goal scorer.
However after the departure of Robin van Persie, an enormous pressure was suddenly placed upon the relatively inexperienced Frenchman’s shoulders to replace a world class forward that had single-handedly landed Arsenal Champions League qualification. A striker who had 37 goals in 48 appearances- to fill his boots was an unenviable task.
Having only played 2 seasons of top-flight football before his move to North London, Giroud was something of a late bloomer. Whereas nowadays players are thrown into action if they show potential at 17/18 years old, Giroud only really experienced this very vaguely in Ligue 2 with Tours when he was 21 but hit the big time at 23 after his move to Montpellier- a late age for players in this generation.
So a player with 2 years experience had to replace arguably the finest out and out number 10 in world football as well as being Arsenal’s only recognised centre-forward (if you consider Chamakh and Park as viable second strikers there is something wrong.)
His first season in the Premiership could be described as ‘encouraging’ as well as slightly inconsistent. The memories that largely stand out for me are clear cut 1 on 1 chances missed against Sunderland and Chelsea at key times of matches as well as his virtual anonymity against the big clubs (he failed to score against any of the other ‘top 4’ sides although he did score at home to Tottenham in the North London derby at Emirates). He seemed to go missing when Arsenal needed him most as well as lacking that extra bit of composure in front of goal that is required to be a success in Europe’s top divisions.
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Despite the negatives, the encouraging signs were there. To use the age old cliché ‘he’s got a good touch for a big man’ could not be truer. In addition to this his hold up play allowed creative players like Cazorla and Walcott to come into the game and he provided Arsenal with an aerial threat that they had been lacking for a long time. Furthermore scored important goals too- a header against West Ham in October leveled the scoring in one of Arsenal’s best performances that season, as well as braces in high scoring ties with Fulham and Newcastle. He finished the season with 11 Premier League goals- a decent return for a first Premier League campaign where he needed to adapt to the vigorous and high paced style of play.
What always struck me about the big Frenchman though was his ability to play accurate one touch lay offs. This season we saw it perfectly with Aaron Ramsey’s second goal against Sunderland but the finest example from last year was his clever little dink to Lukas Podolski who finished with aplomb against his old club Montpellier. With his back to goal he creates a large amount of chances just through clever play and trying something a bit different.
The same applied for Kieran Gibbs volley against Swansea. He took out 2 or 3 players with a one-touch lofted pass which completely opened up the defence. It is little things like this which very few people see but for which he deserves a lot of credit.
Then came this summer. I could write a book about the number of strikers Arsenal were linked with, from Higuain to Suarez and even to Rooney, but we shouldn’t forget the kind of mental impact this may have had on Giroud. Hearing that your club are keen to sign a world-class centre forward didn’t display a huge amount of faith in 25 year old Frenchman but to his credit he quietly got on with his business and showed with his pre-season form that Arsenal have a striker who is capable of scoring 25+ goals and can propel them to the top of the division. Arsene Wenger even came out today and stated that was silent despite all the rumours showing an incredibly positive mentality when it would have been easy to complain and sulk.
Maybe Arsenal not signing a striker gave Giroud a boost of confidence that he has the managers trust and this has lead to such an impressive start to the season. 5 goals in 7 games, 4 in 4 in the Premier League is quite remarkable for a man who many people wrote off as average. But this season he looks like a more complete forward- he gets involved in build up play, he’s creating chances and most importantly showing the composure in front of goal that he lacked last season. Again, his first touch work is something to be admired. All of his Premier League goals this season have come with a one-touch finish and his single assist was a single touch pass as well.
Olivier Giroud looks a different player to last season, whether this is down to a confidence issue or just hard work is unknown but he looks a hell of a striker in this form. If it continues it will be the platform for a very successful Arsenal season especially with the extra chances created with the signing of Ozil, but being the only recognised senior striker may prove to be Arsenal’s downfall when the fixture start to pile up.
The club view
With Van Persie set to leave right after the season in which he scored an astonishing 37 goals, the pressure on his replacement was always going to be that much greater. And in the summer of 2012, the need of the hour for the club was a target man — someone to whom the ball could be floated, flicked or heaved, so he could do the rest and maybe even come close to the Dutchman’s tally. Certainly, Giroud’s height, strength and toughness made him ideal for the role of the target man.
And in his very first season, he responded to the challenge with 17 goals scored at the rate of a little over one goal in every three matches. Not great, but not bad by any stretch. The next three seasons saw him score a total of 65 goals and seemingly cement his role in the team. He was never going to be a Walcott-esque speed demon, a Thierry Henry-like creator of goals (seemingly out of nothing) or a ballerina in the mould of Lionel Messi. What the slightly lumbering Giroud could do apart from dispatching blistering headers, was to hold up play, hang on to the ball, act as a magnet for the attention of opposition defenders and bring his teammates into the game.
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But it was at some point around the time that he had his best season for the club (2015-16) that the game itself began to change and in a twist of fate, it was his teammates who were now keeping him out of the game. The arrivals of Mesut Özil, Danny Welbeck and Sanchez over the past few seasons eventually meant that the manner in which Arsenal would play going forward was about to undergo a change.
The 2016-17 saw him make 40 appearances (amounting to 1,780 minutes) in contrast to 53 appearances (amounting to 3,373 minutes) the previous season. His frustration poured out, with several newspapers quoting the striker on his desire to play more and his dissatisfaction with life on the bench. Regardless, the club, it seemed had other more pressing issues on their mind: The futures of Sanchez, Özil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. And consequently, were willing to allow him to leave and join Everton for a sum of between £20 and 30 million (depending on whom you choose to believe).
The player view
It’s probably been a little difficult for Giroud to fathom or even accept why he has dropped so far down the pecking order. After all, it wasn’t his performances alone that let the club down and in fact, it could be argued that the one season in which he wasn’t playing as starting striker was the first time Arsenal dropped out of the Champions League spots.
His record is by no means, bad. After all, he’s one of only 19 players since the club’s inception to score 100 goals. His knack for turning up with a late goal is also something very few of the present Arsenal squad have demonstrated.
Then there’s the topic of his fitness. Giroud has had one of the best injury records for an Arsenal player in recent times, particularly when considering the physical high-impact sort of game he plays. Additionally, given that speed isn’t an important facet of his game, Giroud has a longer lifespan as a striker than a Walcott, whose potency would be cut in half (or more) as he ages and loses his speed.
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Unless it’s a day on which the sun decides to rise in the West, there’s going to be a former player, pundit, ‘expert’ or one of the human caricatures Arsenal Fan TV‘s Robbie Lyle discovers over the course of his travels, who will be talking about the club’s shortage of leaders. Wenger and Per Mertesacker are among those who have spoken of Giroud’s leadership skills and at the age of 32, with five full seasons behind him, he’s one of the more senior members of the club.
Finally, there’s his loyalty. It can’t be great for his self-esteem that Arsenal’s record signing (at £52 million), Lacazette, plays second fiddle to Giroud in the French national team. Nevertheless, the 2011/12 Ligue 1 Golden Boot winner chose not to move to Everton, preferring instead to stay on and try to win the Premier League with Arsenal. “I’ve been through five amazing years here so I felt like the story had to continue… There are nice days to come from me in an Arsenal shirt,” He said
So where does that leave Giroud and Arsenal?
The first matter of concern on the horizon is likely the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Moving to Everton would have given Giroud regular starts and preparation for the mega event. However, as French national coach Didier Deschamps pointed out earlier this week, “This is not ideal. his playing time is reduced… I would prefer him to be in a club where he plays almost all games… He made the decision to stay at Arsenal. It’s his choice. It can have consequences like all other players.” Accordingly, Chelsea Football Club is now home to the talismanic striker and it’s under Antonio Conte that he’ll hope to play a lot more games.
This brings us back to Giroud’s 100th goal and all the thoughts that may have been going through his head when his penalty kick nestled in the corner of the net.
When all around him, players have been using their agents, social media and any other tools at their disposal to wriggle, wrestle or whine to secure a move to a club where they feel they will play more, earn more or win more, Giroud’s resolve to stay on and win trophies at Arsenal distinguishes him as a different breed of footballer altogether. Unfortunately, this loyalty has already cost him a fair bit and may cost him even more.
He’ll be 36 when the Qatar World Cup rolls around and is unlikely to turn out for France, which means next year’s World Cup is more than likely to be his last one. And by January, if Giroud still finds minutes hard to come by, it’s hard not to imagine him looking to go elsewhere — whether permanently or on loan — to play regularly and ensure he isn’t overlooked by Deschamps. Additionally, the striker must surely know that at this age, he’s got one major payday ahead of him. As mentioned above, his non-reliance on speed and excellent fitness record means that he’s likely to be playing longer than other strikers, and it’s safe to assume he has two to three years at the highest level ahead of him.
For Wenger, it was always going to be tricky to balance the existing system of attack and the need to do right by a loyal and proud servant of Arsenal Football Club. Win matches without Giroud and he stayed out of the team. Lose matches, forcing him back into the team, and it would push Giroud further from his goal of winning trophies with this club.