Olivier Giroud is Arsenal’s marmite, putting it simply. We either love him or hate him and we come to these conclusions after every game. One game he’s a good enough forward man to win us the league, the next we need a replacement figure. But ultimately, the reality is that we are afraid of burdening him only because we want him to do well.
One thing that preventing him from the ‘world-class talisman’ status you feel, is his inconsistency with goal providing, especially against the big sides. From an Arsenal fan’s point of view, it’s the most irritating thing, in the world.
Giroud in important games 2014/15
Arsenal 3-0 City – came on not 100% fit and got a beauty with his left. Only played half an hour roughly
Arsenal 1-2 United – return from injury, scored another beauty, meaningless however.
Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal – helped us take the lead, but fairly isolated. Played well.
City 0-2 Arsenal – got a goal to double advantage, helped us to an important victory. Played well yet again.
Spurs 2-1 Arsenal – quiet, got the assist to take the lead, limelight on Kane.
Arsenal 1-3 Monaco – dreadful, just dreadful. Missed a handful of clear cut chances and was slated for it.
Monaco 0-2 Arsenal – got us off to a dream start by opening the scoring. Played well but didn’t get deserved critiques due to being knocked out.
Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool – scored a pearl late on in the game to make it 4. Outshone but solid performance.
Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea – not the best not the worst performance, Chelsea defended perfectly, difficult to break through. He was easily muted & had to drop deep.
Arsenal 2-1 Reading – disappointing performance from the whole team.
Man United 1-1 Arsenal – isolated and ineffective, should have scored.
This is not the way the media is presenting him and disagrees with what we think. To this, he has been brilliant.
6 goals, 2 assists in 11 games doesn’t sound too bad at all. But if we were to class this, it’d be ‘great’, not ‘world-class’, not a ‘league-winning forward’.
So why does it seem to not work?
Some of Olivier’s performances this season have looked undesirable, uninspired and lethargic. Is that what you want from you main target man?
Giroud has a very simple way of playing, but strangely effective. He gets the ball down, brings his midfield into play and burst for the box. Once in to the box, he looks to get on the front post or in between centre-backs for the cut back, his movement is class. It’s unreadable at times but, just like Wenger and the way he sets up his formation, Giroud needs to adapt to the defenders he is up against. He should know that against Terry and Cahill, there won’t be those positions to pick up in front of his man, like there is against the likes of Williamson and Coloccini, for instance. Strangely however, he brings a variety of goals, volleys, tap ins, headers and so on.. which makes him one of the most complex and confusing strikers in the league, madness.
Like the blip around the Monaco game, Giroud frequently fluctuates between good and bad, no in between. He was awful against Monaco then hit back against Everton instantly, the inconsistency is bringing his reputation down.
Another reason why I personally love the way he plays is how he brings the likes of Ozil, Ramsey and Cazorla in to play. His quick tika taka style of play is a dream for our dynamic midfielders, bringing them in to the attacking picture. It is the main reason why Ramsey was so prolific in the 2013/14 season and has helped Alexis in his triumph this season. Although it enhances the midfield’s goal contribution, it equally can decrease his, also making his status be dampened as a forward, ‘talisman’.
So the question still lies, how do we win the league with Giroud as our main forward?
My answer is a supporting striker, perhaps Lacazette or Higuain who will help him to improve and pick up the intensity throughout the year.
If you agree or think of any other solutions, comment or @ me on @PanenCazorla
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