Olivier Giroud must be a very brave person...or not too intelligent but the former option seems more plausible.
Being a slow-starter in his career as a footballer, Giroud
was finally recognized when he joined Montpellier. He went on to help the team
win their first league title and was French League 1 top scorer for the season
with 21 goals and the team top assist provider with 9 assists. The team put
his worth at £50-£60 million to ward off any suitors. However, he would
eventually move for a fee believed to be about £9.6 million.
He moved to Arsenal...of all other teams.. Arsenal. This was
a brave move or as stated earlier stupid move...but again the former is more
like it.
With the departure of Robin van Persie, it was obvious
Giroud had been brought in to replace him. Podolski and Cazorla did come in
with him would help but he is the central striker at Arsenal. He had mighty big
shoes to fill and lots of broken hearts for him to mend. The fans started
doubting him from day 1.
Aside from big boots to fill, he joined a team that is not
known for its strength in delivering good crosses and corners which was a
disadvantage for him as his greatest strength lies in his aerial ability. He is
a great header of the ball. Here he was joining a team that knows not how to
attack using aerial balls or defend them. He knew this and yet he still
joined... Bravery?
The charming striker is not too pacy so when he joined a
counter attacking team that plays 4-3-3 with the possibility of being flanked
by Walcott or Chamberlain on the right and Podolski or Gervinho on the left he
was asking for trouble. It is like a buffalo being flanked by a cheetah and an
antelope and expected to work as a team. He still chose to join anyway.
OG is also known for his neat flick-ons and his quite fancy
touches. However, he should have known there is no mind that can understand
them. Walcott particularly has been accused of not having a 'footballing brain'
cannot read Giroud's intentions to save his life. The only players who seem to
read OG are the clinical German Podolski and Rosicky.. Thus Giroud's balls
normally go to waste. Yet he still joined??
He also joined Arsenal at a time when Theo Walcott thought
he should be the main striker. This means that even when Theo is supposed to
play out wide he tends to drift out crowding Giroud out of his preferred
central role and thus reducing his efficiency. Giroud may have known this would
happen and yet he still joined...one wonders why.
His bravery is shown by his statistics though. 16 goals and
10 assists for the very disadvantaged striker is very impressive. Aside from
that, his qualities in defending set pieces have been noted and accepted by
many fans and pundits.
Arsenal was definitely not the right choice for Giroud but
Giroud was the right choice for Arsenal.
With better support and when the team learns to play to his
strengths he will be lethal and will prove his worth.
Next time instead of singing Na na na na Giroud maybe the
fans should sing 'brave brave Giroud'.
Till next time...
ATID
Written by Fridah Kariuki
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