Olivier Giroud has been one victim of Arsenal’s good form this season. The striker has missed large parts of this term through injury, and hasn’t played since the end of September when he featured for 11 minutes in his side’s 3-0 win over Chelsea.
In his absence, Arsenal have been excellent with Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez as a potent front three. The mobility and speed on the break that this front line offers really makes Giroud look ponderous.
The French striker is close to full fitness again, and will be hoping that he is ready to be picked in the Champions League tonight against Ludogorets. If Arsene Wenger decides to rest one of his current first choice attackers, Giroud is top of the queue to slot back into the side. If he can prove his fitness in time for tonight’s game, it would be the perfect first step back regaining his place in Wenger’s first choice side.
Arsene Wenger brushed off calls for Arsenal to bring in a veteran centre-back by praising defenders Rob Holding and Laurent Koscielny in a "great defensive performance" in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Leicester City.
Wenger decided to start Holding over Calum Chambers even though the newcomer from Bolton -- who cost just £2 million -- only made his Premier League last weekend when the Gunners conceded four goals in a 4-3 loss to Liverpool.
And while Arsenal are still looking for an experienced defender in the transfer market, and have been in talks with Valencia over Shkodran Mustafi, Wenger said Holding's performance showed that splashing cash is not always the answer.
"We have a whole team working on the strengthening of the team. I'm not the only one," Wenger said in his postgame news conference.
"Unfortunately no one speaks about the performance of Rob Holding. You should be happy, he is English and 20 years old. I am sorry he didn't cost £55 million, so he can't be good."
"We don't speak about the performances anymore and I think that is not right."
Angry Arsenal fans who travelled to the King Powe Stadium called for Wenger to make signings, but Wenger, clearly irritated by transfer talk, again defended his policies.
Asked if he is reluctant to spend money, the manager replied: "Why do you say I'm reluctant? If I buy you tomorrow for £45m, I have spent £45m, and I would have done well because I will have listened to you, but spending the money in itself is not a quality.
"Spending the money buying a top player is different and we are ready to do it. I just said I'd spend £300m if I find the player and I had £300m.
"Do not forget we are a club who has 600 employees who we have to have a responsibility to as well. It's a bit surprising you come out of games and don't speak about football. You have to speak about money.
"You have to respect the players who played and the performance from both teams. If we find the players to strengthen our team then we are not reluctant to spend the money.
"They [the fans] are highly influenced by the media, that's part of the process today. We try to make the right decisions, it's as simple as that."
Rob Holding and the Arsenal defence prevented Leicester City from scoring on Saturday.
Wenger brought Koscielny back into the squad after he was rested against Liverpool, when his absence was keenly felt in the defeat at the Emirates.
That led Wenger to rush the Frenchman back into the starting lineup even though he opted to keep Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud on the bench, with all three having returned late after the European Championship.
It turned out to be a crucial decision as Koscielny helped the Gunners repel the speedy threat of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez and made a crucial last-ditch tackle to deny Danny Drinkwater in the first half.
"The whole back four played well, and [Koscielny] guided the defence well. He had an outstanding game," Wenger told BT Sport. "And Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal as well played very well.
"It was a game of high intensity, where both teams gave absolutely everything. On that front, I believe when you conceded four goals last week we have shown a great defensive performance.
"Overall we created the chances to win it. But you could see that they were not champions for no reason last year. It's a team that is very well organised, it's very difficult to create chances."
Arsenal's attacking performance was a lot less convincing, though, as Alexis Sanchez struggled to create chances in his role as the central striker. The Gunners immediately looked more dangerous when Wenger brought on Ozil and Giroud toward the end, but they still didn't create any clear-cut chances.
"Mesut Ozil is not completely ready yet to cope with the physicality of the game -- that is why we have to be a bit careful with him," Wenger told the BBC.
"We made many chances against a team that defends very well. Overall we still lack a little bit in our decision making and in the final ball but that will come. It's a positive game."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has pulled out of negotiations to sign Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain in a swap deal for Olivier Giroud after news of the talks leaked, according to reports in Italy.
Quotes from Giroud’s agent surfaced on Tuesday, with Michael Manuello confirming that the French striker would be more than willing to move to Naples if Arsenal included him as part of a player-plus-cash deal for Higuain.
And now the journalist who interviewed Manuello and broke the story, Raffaele Auriemma, has provided a fresh update that will surely disappoint Arsenal fans.
‘Wenger has blocked everything,’ he explained on Radio CRC. ‘Arsenal were upset by the leak and amazed that after a few hours everything was out in the open, so have taken a step back.
‘Even [Napoli chairman Aurelio] De Laurentiis seems bitter, even angry, not because he wanted to sell Higuain, but because he feels betrayed by his market consultant, who blabbed about several different rumours.’
The news will come as a huge blow to Arsenal, who have already been snubbed by Jamie Vardy – who elected to sign a new contract at Leicester City instead – and are struggling to sign a new striker in time for the start of the new season.
The list of French stars NOT in coach Didier Deschamps' final 23 would make up a decent international side but there are issues at both ends of the pitch.
Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane inspired France to the title the last twice Les Bleus played host to major tournaments.
Now, Didier Deschamps – the captain who lifted the World Cup for Zidane and co in 1998 – is under huge pressure to complete the hat-trick at Euro 2016 with the next generation.
This time, the French build-up has been beset with problems on and off the pitch, with the whole spine of a team absent from their final squad.
Raphael Varane, Mamadou Sakho, Lassana Diarra and Mathieu Valbuena are all missing, while Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa were controversially excluded .
Yet such is the talent in French football, the hosts are still favourites to lift the trophy in Paris on July 10.
Deschamps won silverware as France captain — now he aims to repeat the trick as their coach
Now a nation waits to see who will be the inspirational heroes to follow in the footsteps of Platini, Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana at Euro 84, and Zidane, Thierry Henry and Youri Djorkaeff at France 98.
The new generation play at the top clubs across Europe: Anthony Martial at Manchester United, Antoine Griezmann at Atletico Madrid, Paul Pogba at Juventus and Kingsley Coman at Bayern Munich.
Leicester’s N’Golo Kante has also stormed into the squad and West Ham’s Dimitri Payet has earned a recall. His superb recent winner against Cameroon showed he is bringing his club form and dead-ball expertise to the international stage.
West Ham idol Payet's free-kick wizardry has earned him a France recall
The two problems: scoring goals and stopping them.
Top-scorer Benzema has been left out after his alleged involvement in the blackmail of Valbuena, so Olivier Giroud will lead the line.
If he is not good enough to win the Premier League for Arsenal, can he score the goals to win Euro 2016?
The alternatives are Martial or Mexico-based Andre-Pierre Gignac.
The Premier League-based defence is also a concern, with the centre-back pairing of Eliaquim Mangala and Laurent Koscielny looking as watertight as the banks of the Seine after the recent weeks of torrential rain.
In pre-tournament friendlies against Holland (3-2), Russia (4-2) and Cameroon (3-2), France had to score three times to win.
You can’t emerge victorious in an international competition like that.
But roared on by a French public seeking unifying success to take away attention from widespread industrial action and the threat of more terrorism, Deschamps’ team will be serious contenders.
The Rumour Mill is usually at its most plump and juicy when there isn’t much football news to report upon elsewhere. When space needs to be crammed with half-truths and gossip, and people need their fill of news and so forth. So given there’s not much else around today for anyone to get excited about, you can only imagine there’s going to be some red hot stuff ahead.
We could start here, at the good old Guardian, where there’s word that new Manchester City head honcho Pep Guardiola is set to start the uphill battle of grappling the title from Leicester City’s grasp by triggering Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte’s release fee, which stands at €50m. It says here - here - that: ‘The club’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain was pictured in Bilbao last month, with Basque newspaper EITB reporting that City have told Athletic officials that they are willing to meet his release clause. “It is a specific request of Pep Guardiola,” read the report.’
On to other places now, and word on the street is that Wolfsburg, afterre leasing Nicklas Bendtner, have learned their lesson about signing lumbering Arsenal fancypants strikers who probably think they’re a bit better than they actually are, and are… oh, wait, hang on … they’re keen on Olivier Giroud. Hmmm. Yes. Well. Other targets for them Wolves – not them Wolves – supposedly include Besiktas striker Mario Gómez, according to Kicker magazine. Sound the alarm.
Oooh, here’s one – France Football report that Liverpool are running the rule over Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore, a man who’s mulling his future in France due to… well, largely due to not playing that many games. Just the 10 starts this season, all in all, and you’d imagine young Javier more fancies his chances of dislodging Adam Lallana than Ángel Di María. Sorry Adam.
Andriy Yarmolenko. He’s good. So good, in fact, that his current chairman thinks it would be beneath him to play for some of the finest clubs dear old Blighty has to offer. Well, sort of. Dynamo Kiev president Ihor Surkis doesn’t think the winger will leave his club this summer, but if he does then it will be for one of the big dogs. “He is already a top player, so he should go to a top club,” Surkis said. “My position is that we should not let Yarmolenko go to such clubs as Everton and Stoke City. Dynamo is Dynamo and Stoke City is Stoke. We’re playing in the Champions League and Stoke City are fighting for survival.” Well, they’re 10th, but who’s counting?
How ‘bout some sexy new contracts? John Terry wants one, and what John Terry wants from Chelsea, John Terry usually gets, but even this one might be beyond his creaking ol’ limbs. Erik Lamela fancies one too, hoping to stick around with Tottenham despite their abject, disgraceful and catastrophic failure of a season. And Riyad Mahrez is in line for a spanking, shiny, digit-filled deal too. He’s probably earned that one.
And finally, here’s word from South Wales, where the local journal has it that Francesco Guidolin has impressed Watford sufficiently that they are considering replacing Quique Sánchez Flores with him. The Pozzo family, Watford’s owners, know the Italian well after he spent four years managing Udinese.
The Frenchman went 11 games without a goal before his double in the FA Cup replay and Arsene Wenger says it's a weight off the striker's shoulders.
Arsene Wenger has backed Olivier Giroud to go on another scoring spree now the France striker has been set free by his brace at Hull.
The Arsenal boss admitted his Gunners are striving to “stay alive” in three competitions this week – starting with Sunday’s quarter-final with Watford.
And Giroud is set to play a central role after coming back from the dead and ending an 11-game barren run with his double strike on Tuesday.
The £13million forward has form for following famine with feast – and scored seven in seven in one burst in the autumn.
And along with fellow forwards Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott, Wenger reckoned his fellow Frenchman is ready to fire again as the Gunners continue their quest for a record third consecutive FA Cup.
Drought: Giroud was closing in on a dozen games without a goal
“It is a weight on the shoulders when the players don’t score,” he admitted. “So the fact that they score will of course take that weight off. But it is a bit cyclic always, especially for Giroud. Giroud has cycles so it was a weight off his shoulders.
“Football has to be instinctive and you have to play with freedom. When you play with a bit more freedom, when the goals are natural. Every striker will tell you that.
“With Giroud, this season for example he has had games where he has gone boom, boom, boom, boom boom and after he had a little spell where he didn’t score and now I hope he has a repetition of his former spell and start to score again.”
Super cool Giroud always appears unfazed as he approaches defenders and life with a Gallic shrug.
But Wenger admitted: “Between what he says and what is real, even I don’t really know what is going in there. You know that if you don’t score and you are a striker, somewhere you are not happy.”
Walcott revealed after the Hull win that Arsenal, who ended a five-match run with a win at Hull, had held a fiery team meeting to get their faltering season back on track.
“We manage this club in a very modern way,” Wenger insisted.
“We do many meetings with the players. Sometimes we encourage them to do as well their own meetings. Incidentally, I was completely aware of that. Just like to reiterate that was before the Swansea game that we lost. That was not unusual and, as well, not a miraculous result!”
In pictures - Hull 0-4 Arsenal:
Gunners host Watford before mission impossible at Barcelona in the Champions League and then a crucial league match away to Everton.
Wenger said: “We want to stay alive in all of them but then again lets be focused on the next one. I don’t know if the FA Cup is our best chance of a trophy. I don’t think like that.”
Asked if his players could be complacent about finishing in the top four for a 20th consecutive season, the Gunners boss insisted: “The players are not in the comfort zone and want to do well and they’ve not given up (on the title) or the Champions League.
“I feel we can have a run but we know how quickly it can change – we lost two games and suddenly looked like we would be in the Championship next year so it is game by game and all we know is we can not afford any more slips ups.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed his strikers to hit the goal trail in the coming weeks after finally finding their scoring boots.
The club face Watford in their FA Cup sixth-round contest on Sunday looking to become the first team in living memory to win the competition three times in succession.
Wenger’s side reached the last eight courtesy of a 4-0 replay win at Hull City – which saw Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott both score twice apiece to end their respective barren spells in front of goal.
Frenchman Giroud now has 20 goals for the season as he celebrated the birth of his second child with a double at the KC Stadium – but he had gone 11 games without a goal before then.
Similarly, Walcott had just six goals to his name this season before his fifth-round double – while Alexis Sanchez’s strike to earn Arsenal a point at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend was his first in the Premier League since October.
But now they are all back among the goals, Wenger believes the pressure has been lifted ahead of a pivotal week which sees Arsenal travel to Barcelona needing to overturn a 2-0 home defeat to advance in the Champions League before a trip to Everton on in the Premier League.
“Look, it is a weight on the shoulders when the players don’t score," Wenger said.
“So the fact that they score will of course take that weight off. Overall, I am pleased that they scored.
“But it is a bit cyclic always, especially for Giroud. Giroud has cycles so it was a weight off his shoulders. And Walcott too.
“You know this season for example he (Giroud) has had games where he has gone boom, boom, boom, boom, boom and after he had a little spell where he didn’t score and now I hope he has a repetition of his former spell and start to score again.
“You know that if you don’t score and you are a striker, somewhere you are not happy.
“Alexis as well against Tottenham scored. He suffers maybe more than everybody when he doesn’t score.
“Football has to be somewhere instinctive and you have to play with freedom. When you play with a bit more freedom, the goals are natural. Every striker will tell you that."
While Wenger admits that he has spoken to his attacking players about their goals drying up, the Frenchman was keen to stress it is more of a team effort – creating the sort of chances the likes of Giroud, Walcott, Sanchez and the fit-again Danny Welbeck can tuck away.
“We speak about it but the best way to speak about it, to sort it out is to play better collectively," he added.
“When the quality of the cross, the quality of the final ball is better it is easier to score and sometimes what you forget when you get in the final third, you have 0.1 to 0.2 seconds to make the right decision.
“And when you have a little hesitation, just a fraction short – in midfield you have 1-2 seconds to make a decision sometimes – when it gets there, just to be very quick and very decisive, decisiveness can go when you are not successful for a while."
Arsenal's Premier League title ambitions were dealt a painful blow as they were not so much beaten as humiliated 4-0 by a Shane Long-inspired Southampton on Saturday.
SOUTHAMPTON: Arsenal's Premier League title ambitions were dealt a painful blow as they were not so much beaten as humiliated 4-0 by a Shane Long-inspired Southampton on Saturday.
Favourites to win the title after their 2-1 victory over Manchester City, they knew that they could go to the top of the table by beating an out-of-form Southampton after Leicester City's defeat at Liverpool earlier in the day.
But somehow they made Southampton - short of confidence and goals and reeling from a 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur a week ago - look like the team aiming for the top.
Dutch-born Curacao defender Cuco Martina, only in the team thanks to an injury to first-choice right-back Cedric Soares, put Southampton ahead with a sensational long-range strike in the 19th minute.
Long, himself only playing because of injury to top scorer Graziano Pelle, added a second, Jose Fonte headed in the third, and Long made it 4-0 in injury time.
St Mary's is not a lucky ground for Arsenal, where they lost on New Year's Day last season and have not won since December 2003.
But this was a potentially damaging result and display and Arsene Wenger's men must now aim for six points and nothing less from home matches against Bournemouth and Newcastle United.
Yet Arsenal started well. Unchanged from the starting XI that had beaten City last Monday, the visitors could have gone ahead in the second minute, but Olivier Giroud headed the ball well over from Mesut Ozil's corner.
Southampton looked energetic and in the mood to put recent disappointments behind them, but their early attacks foundered on the Arsenal defence.
When the visitors broke away, Aaron Ramsey's clever disguised pass reached Nacho Monreal, whose deflected cross almost drifted over the head of Maarten Stekelenburg.
Monreal had another chance when Martina headed unconvincingly out of defence and the left-back under-hit his shot straight at Stekelenburg.
ARSENAL SNOOZE
But that error by the man from Rotterdam was soon forgotten.
When Per Mertesacker headed away a routine cross from the left, any danger to the Arsenal goal seemed to have been averted until Martina hit the ball first time with the outside of his right foot, sending it curling past Petr Cech and into the bottom-left corner from fully 30 yards.
No-one looked more surprised than Martina, who was making his first league start after being restricted to a couple of Europa League appearances since his £1 million ($1.48 million, 1.35 million euros) close-season move from FC Twente.
Southampton could have added a second three minutes before half-time when Long outpaced Mertesacker, but with only Cech to beat, lifted his shot high over the bar.
Seconds earlier Theo Walcott had nodded wide at the near post from another Ozil corner, but Arsenal's previous dominance was a thing of the past, and things got even worse in the opening period of the second half.
When James Ward-Prowse sent a free-kick onto the head of Virgil Van Dijk, only the flag of the assistant referee ruled out a goal. It was a close decision.
But Southampton were not to be denied and in the 55th minute they deservedly doubled their lead.
Long began the move, passing to Mane on the right and running into the box for the return pass. Laurent Koscielny, his marker, tripped after fleeting contact with Long, who was left unmarked to shoot past Cech.
It was 3-0 in the 69th minute as Southampton scored a goal that summed up everything wrong with Arsenal on the night.
As Ryan Bertrand swung in a corner from the right, no Arsenal defender attacked the ball convincingly, in contrast to Saints captain Fonte, who threw himself between Koscielny and Mathieu Flamini and headed past Cech.
Now it was just a question of how many Southampton would score and having gone close when he hit the post, Long added a fourth when he drilled home a deserved second.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal's future was plunged into serious doubt on Saturday as his side lost at Stoke City, while title-chasing Arsenal crashed to a demoralising 4-0 defeat at Southampton.
United have now gone seven games without victory in all competitions -- their worst run since 1989-90 -- and speculation is rife that Van Gaal will pay for their slump with his job.
He had described the match as "must-win", but his side were deservedly beaten 2-0 at a windswept Britannia Stadium after Bojan Krkic punished a Memphis Depay error to open the scoring in the 19th minute before Marko Arnautovic slammed home a brilliant second goal seven minutes later.
Asked if he felt he still had the support of the United board, Van Gaal said: "You will have to wait and see, but I think so. I feel the support of everybody in the club."
He added: "It's more difficult because I'm also part of the four matches (in succession) that we have lost."
Van Gaal's side slipped to sixth in the table, three points below the Champions League places, with Stoke, managed by former United striker Mark Hughes, now three points behind them in 11th place.
After a highly eventful Boxing Day programme, Leicester City remained top despite a 1-0 loss at Liverpool after Arsenal failed to exploit their slip-up by capitulating at Southampton.
Cuco Martina broke the deadlock for Southampton in the 19th minute with a jaw-dropping 30-yard shot that swerved inside the left-hand post.
Shane Long struck twice in the second half, either side of a 69th-minute Jose Fonte header, as Ronald Koeman's side ended a five-game winless streak in fine style.
"We lost too many challenges today. They were sharper than us," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told BT Sport.
"The title is down to consistency to fight in every single game and produce a performance. Today was a very physical game and we didn't play well enough."
The result, Arsenal's fourth defeat of the campaign, brought Wenger's side spiralling to earth after their 2-1 win over Manchester City last Monday and kept Leicester two points clear at the summit.
Leicester fell to their first away defeat of the campaign, and second in total, after substitute Christian Benteke slid home Roberto Firmino's 63rd-minute cut-back to earn Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp a first win in four league games.
"We started to play too late," said Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, whose side host third-place Manchester City on Tuesday.
"Liverpool pushed from the beginning and for this reason they deserved to win."
Manchester City reignited their title challenge by bouncing back from defeat at Arsenal with a breezy 4-1 win over second-bottom Sunderland that left them three points below Leicester.
Raheem Sterling, Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony scored inside the first 22 minutes to put City in control, with Kevin De Bruyne adding a fourth before Fabio Borini replied for Sam Allardyce's side.
But it was not all positive news for City manager Manuel Pellegrini, with Bony skying a late penalty and, more worryingly, skipper Vincent Kompany limping off just eight minutes after coming on following eight games out with a calf injury.
"The only pity was Vincent Kompany's injury," Pellegrini said. "It is a calf. It is difficult to understand."
Tottenham Hotspur tightened their grip on fourth place by overcoming Norwich City 3-0 at White Hart Lane, where Harry Kane scored twice -- the first a penalty -- and Tom Carroll also found the target.
Diego Costa netted twice as Guus Hiddink began his second spell as Chelsea interim manager with a 2-2 draw at home to Watford, Oscar missing a late penalty that would have given the champions all three points.
Troy Deeney, with a penalty, and Odion Ighalo put Watford 2-1 ahead after Costa had given Chelsea a 32nd-minute lead, but the Spain striker equalised in the 65th minute from Willian's pass.
Oscar had a chance to give Chelsea victory when substitute Eden Hazard was fouled by Valon Behrami, but the Brazilian slipped as he took his penalty and sent the ball looping into the crowd. Chelsea remain 15th.
"At the end it is a fair result," said Hiddink, who will be without Costa through suspension for Monday's trip to United.
"But we had some chances and it was a pity Oscar slipped for the penalty."
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace rose one place to fifth after drawing 0-0 at Bournemouth.
Managerless Swansea City escaped the relegation zone as Ki Sung-Yueng's ninth-minute tap-in saw off West Bromwich Albion, while bottom club Aston Villa drew 1-1 at home to West Ham United.
Swansea's win dropped Newcastle United into the bottom three and they remained there as Tom Cleverley's 93rd-minute header earned Everton a last-gasp 1-0 win at St James' Park.
Martial was given the chance to impress on just his second international call-up and got off to the perfect start against Denmark
Anthony Martial's dream season has continued to get better after he impressed just minutes into his full France debut.
The £36million Manchester United man was handed his first start for the national team by boss Didier Deschamps in their friendly with Denmark on Sunday evening.
He immediately repaid his manager's faith in him by teeing up Olivier Giroud to put France ahead just four minutes into the match.
Since his move to United, Martial has bagged four goals and put in a host of impressive performances, despite being initially branded as a last-gasp deadline day panic buy.
He now stands a great chance of representing his country at the European Championships next summer, during their home finals.
Say cheese: Martial and the rest of the France team line-up before kick-off
Getting stuck in: Martial battles with Lars Jacobsen for the ball
France started their friendly clash like rapid-fire with Denmark, as Arsenal star Giroud doubled the scoring just two minutes after he netted his first.
Giroud recently admitted that he needed to toughen up and work his way back in the Gunners side, after he was dropped for Theo Walcott.
Back of the net: Giroud made an instant impact, taking advantage of Martial's assist.
High five: Giroud celebrates his second goal for France
Denmark's Erik Sviatchenko scored a late consolation for the hosts, but they lost the match 2-1.
Alongside Martial and Giroud, Morgan Schneiderlin, Moussa Sissoko and Eliaquim Mangala were the other Premier League stars to feature in the game.
The Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud says it is a new experience for him to be the second choice behind Theo Walcott and believes his manager Arsène Wenger still has faith in his abilities after he scored both goals for France in their 2-1 win over Denmark on Sunday.
Things have changed drastically since last season at Arsenal when Wenger preferred Giroud in the centre as a target man and Walcott as a right-wing. Walcott has always insisted his best role is in the centre and his deployment there has worked so far this season.
The England international has already scored seven goals in 13 appearances for club and country this season, and has 12 goals in his last 14 Premier League starts. In contrast, Giroud has scored three goals in 11 appearances for Arsenal so far, drawing criticism for his inconsistency.
“At Arsenal, I am in competition with Theo for the striker position. But he is doing well at the moment, so there is no reason to change,” Giroud said.
“Whether it was at Tours, Montpellier or Arsenal, I have never experienced a situation like this, I have often played from the start. I need to take positives and to harden myself mentally. It is something new for me.
“I was in Walcott’s place in previous seasons at Arsenal. I imagine what he must have been thinking. But I feel that the coach believes in me,” the 29-year-old French forward added.
Giroud is not worried over his lack of playing time and is confident he will pounce on any opportunity to win back his place in the starting line-up. Arsenal, who are second in the league table after eight games, travel to face the promoted side Watford on Saturday.
“It has been for several matches now that I have played less, that is for sure, but I do not need to be worried. I need a bit more game time but also to believe more in my abilities,” Giroud added.
“An ’Ollywood actor? Ah, I don’t know... The one I like at the moment is Gerard Butler, or maybe Ryan Gosling.”
If you could be a professional in another sport, what would it be?
“Maybe ski? The giant slalom. I used to ski a lot because I was born in the mountains, in the Alps. I love it and I reached a great level. But I’m not allowed to do it now, so I really miss it. The last time I went skiing? About ten years ago. Too much time.”
Have you ever been starstruck?
“When I was about ten years old, I saw Zinedine Zidane and I was like [mouth agape]. He came to my home town, to a tournament that I was playing in to say hello. But there were too many people around for me to ask for a picture.”
What’s your favourite TV show?
“It’s a French one, because I have French TV at home. But for English programmes it’s maybe The Voice. It’s entertaining – but no, I definitely can’t sing.”
Your favourite ever goal?
“My first goal in the World Cup, which was the header I scored against Switzerland in 2014. It means a lot to me.”
Who’s the most talented footballer you’ve ever played against?
“I’ve never played against Cristiano Ronaldo and I’ve never played against Lionel Messi. So maybe Franck Ribery for Bayern Munich, or Arjen Robben... or [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic.”
If you could watch only three sports for the rest of your life, what are they?
“Tennis, skiing and football. I used to play a lot of tennis when I was young. And I love to watch Roger Federer play – he has a fantastic technique.”
Who would you most like to go for a drink, or coffee with?
“My daughter is too young to drink, so I’ve got my wife, my mother... Someone famous? Ah okay, then David Beckham is a top man for me. I think he should be an example for the young players. He was a great footballer, but the man himself is very respectful and a top man. So, yeah, why not?”
If you could...
“Ah, wait. Meeting Beckham is not like a dream because I’ve already met him. So why not someone like Brad Pitt? I love his films and I think he’s a legend of the acting world. He’s also a dad to a lot of kids and I think he’s doing really well with everything, so why not try to learn something from him?”
Good question, Olivier. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
“Have you seen the film Jumper? Where you can teleport? I can speak with you now and maybe one second later be in Shanghai or LA. I would like that.”
How would you describe yourself in three words?
“Funny, generous and respectful.”
If you were stuck in a lift with a team-mate, who would be the best and who would be the worst?
“The best would be one of the French guys because I can speak French with him, even if my English is not so bad. But the worst one? That’s a tough question. Anyone who’s a joker.”
Back with a bang? Can this Arsenal star maintain his form?
Overtaken by Theo Walcott, vilified by fans of both club and country and made into a punchline by a media who simply think he’s more of a pretty boy than a top class striker, life cannot be easy for Olivier Giroud.
The Frenchman’s a bit of a heartthrob, but that shouldn’t prevent him from being a top class striker. It may not be fair that he has the looks and the skill, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
The truth is that Giroud is a top class striker. He hasn’t got lightening pace or even brute strength, but, in a phrase made awkward by the gorgeousness of the man, he has a good body and knows what to do with it. Last season’s 17 goals in 25 appearances in a campaign that also included a broken leg shows that he really is a good player.
But the most important thing about Giroud is that he is a confidence player. It’s unsurprising that a man who spends just that much time on his hair would have a confidence issue, really. He seems to score frequently whenever he’s amongst the goals.
Most strikers are the same. They get a taste for blood when the ball hits the back of the net, and they can sniff it out after that. And this week against Denmark, Giroud started up front for France and within four minutes had found the net twice.
Not bad for a man who was booed off the pitch by his fellow countrymen after a poor performance in September’s international break.
But these two goals were gifts given to him by Leicester City stopper Kasper Schmeichel, who was in goal for Denmark that night. He inexplicably let Giroud’s first shot past him and it dribbled into the goal. Then he flapped at another shot and pushed it right into the path of the Arsenal striker to give him his second of the game.
France, since they are the hosts of Euro 2016, can only play friendlies until the summer, but were placed into a group so that they’d play in friendlies with the other teams in that group who were, in all the other games, playing for points. So it might not be the greatest of feats, scoring two goals that should never have been scored in a friendly against Denmark. But nevertheless he scored them.
The goals aren’t what should matter to Arsenal fans, though. It’s the confidence. What Wenger should be looking for from Giroud is a man whose knack for scoring goals takes him to all the right positions in the box, just as he did at the weekend for France.
Theo Walcott is not a natural finisher, but he has pace and a dribbling ability that Giroud could only dream of. What Giroud has, by contrast, is a finishing ability and a classy way of getting amongst the goals. These two things taken together are heaven sent for the Gunners because it means that they can make changes up front based on the game. Most teams don’t have that combination of qualities up front, but Arsene Wenger is able to completely change the way his team plays by making one sub up front. In other words he has the ability to turn the game on its head in one swoop.
But none of that is possible without confidence. When you have two strikers like that who can get amongst the goals, it’s hard to keep confidence high in both, certainly if you’re only playing with one striker. Egos are bruised by being placed on the bench.
But the confidence should be high in both Giroud and Walcott after the international break, and Wenger will be tasked with keeping both men happy. If he can, Arsenal are sitting in a good position for a title challenge, and there will be goals in their team.
Although Olivier Giroud returned to goalscoring form with France during the international break, he may have to wait before being granted a place in the Arsenal XI.
At the moment, Theo Walcott is occupying the central striking berth that was once Giroud’s domain. It seems that ArseneWengercurrently believes that he faces a straight choice between the twofrontmen.
However, must it necessarily be so? Both players have wildly different attributes, and both can pose a different kind of threat to the opposition. Arsenal fans may now be wondering if it’s possible forWenger to accommodate them both in the same team.
They used to play together quite effectively. When Giroud first arrived at Arsenal, Walcott was regularly deployed on the right flank, and the two struck up an impressive understanding.
Speaking to the Peoplein November 2012 after scoring in the north London derby, Giroud admitted:
Looking at the goals from last weekend it was another cross from my favourite supplier Theo. The more we play together, the better it is – and Theo always seems able to find me.
I know in the past Arsenal fans have moaned about the lack of crosses but hopefully my heading ability and height can give other options to the team.
It’s a combination that made sense. Walcott brought speed and width,Giroud offered a powerful penalty box presence. They seemed to enjoy working in tandem, and the results were good. Later that season, the polarised pair scored five goals between them as Arsenal demolished Newcastle United by seven goals to three.
However, things have changed since then. Wenger seemingly envisages Walcott as a lone striker now. Since a defensive lapse allowed Danny Rose to score Tottenham Hotspur’s winning goal back in the spring, Walcott has spent barely a minute on the wing.
There’s also the question of balance. When Walcott and Giroud played together, it was usually with SantiCazorla on the opposite flank.
Wenger typically likes to field two "strikers" in his front three, with the third being an auxiliary midfield player. For example, back in 2012/13, he was notably reluctant to field Walcott, Giroud and Lukas Podolski in the same XI.
That continues to this day. Currently, Alexis Sanchez occupies the left flank. That meansWengerwill typically opt for a more conventional midfield player on the opposite side—AlexOxlade-Chamberlain has filled that role, but it more often goes to Aaron Ramsey.
The Gunners boss is likely to be reticent to include Alexis, Giroud and Walcott in the same team—especially when he already has concerns about the Englishman’s capacity to carry out his defensive responsibilities.
With MesutOzil in behind, that would effectively make for a front four. That’s too cavalier, even for a coach with Wenger’s attacking instincts.
Giroud and Walcott would make for an ideal partnership in a traditional 4-4-2, but Arsenal don’t currently have the central midfield required to support that system.
Although Giroud and Walcott make for an interesting combination, it’s difficult to see Wenger finding a way to squeeze them into the same XI.
An injury to Alexis might enable Walcott to take up his space on the wing, but for the time being it seems Arsenal’s two strikers are locked in competition for just one starting spot.
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.
