Olivier Giroud

free_cat wrote:Most telling is that it was his first hattrick as an Arsenal player. In 3,5 seasons. An Arsenal 1st choice striker.

Sorry, I know you're used to seeing Messi and co. score hat-trick after hat-trick against the Jeremy Corbyns of La Liga, but it's not meant to be a common football feat

Lex wrote:

free_cat wrote:Most telling is that it was his first hattrick as an Arsenal player. In 3,5 seasons. An Arsenal 1st choice striker.

Sorry, I know you're used to seeing Messi and co. score hat-trick after hat-trick against the Jeremy Corbyns of La Liga, but it's not meant to be a common football feat

I'm also used to seeing Messi score 5 goals in a CL knockout round.

I'm sorryer that your first choice striker is unable to score a hattrick in 3,5 seasons.

Just pitching in to say there's no reason you can't both be wrong.

Giroud is very good, but not great, but it's also that most teams don't focus that much on a single forward, so even players of a similar level don't often score as much as Messi or CR, or Ibrahimovic or whoever, because most teams like themselves some balance.

VivaStPauli wrote:Just pitching in to say there's no reason you can't both be wrong.

Giroud is very good, but not great, but it's also that most teams don't focus that much on a single forward, so even players of a similar level don't often score as much as Messi or CR, or Ibrahimovic or whoever, because most teams like themselves some balance.

How dare you bring logic into a trolling contest?

Hattricks are anecdotal stats and shouldn't be used to gauge a player's abilities .

Diego Costa never scored a hattrick in Spain.
El hamdaoui scored a hattrick in his debut in spain .. his only 3 goals that year in a disastrous season .

Still not a fan and still hoping we get someone better in this summer. Although with no one available and the only available strikers who are better i.e higuain will cost over 50m.

Viva is pretty much spot on though

He has always been a good striker, just not good enough for a club who wants to get to the next level. Our best run this season was when we had Walcott upfront because he complimented the likes of Ozil, Sanchez, Ramsey and Cazorla. Giroud is hit or miss in that regard. For a big guy, his holding play is quite inconsistent and often lacklustre. His link up play is the same.

Yesterday he was fantastic and one of the few times where he made a real difference in a game where we needed him the most. In 3.5 years there are very very few moments where that has happened.

More often then not, he hinders our game. He slows down attacks due to poor mobility or poor decisions. Gets outmuscled by guys weaker than him and then starts throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get a decision. His finishing is decent though.

Thankfully we have players like Ozil, Sanchez, Ramsey and Walcott who can carry him but it would really be a miracle to win the league with him upfront.

RealGunner wrote:Still not a fan and still hoping we get someone better in this summer. Although with no one available and the only available strikers who are better i.e higuain will cost over 50m.

Viva is pretty much spot on though

He has always been a good striker, just not good enough for a club who wants to get to the next level. Our best run this season was when we had Walcott upfront because he complimented the likes of Ozil, Sanchez, Ramsey and Cazorla. Giroud is hit or miss in that regard. For a big guy, his holding play is quite inconsistent and often lacklustre. His link up play is the same.

Yesterday he was fantastic and one of the few times where he made a real difference in a game where we needed him the most. In 3.5 years there are very very few moments where that has happened.

More often then not, he hinders our game. He slows down attacks due to poor mobility or poor decisions. Gets outmuscled by guys weaker than him and then starts throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get a decision. His finishing is decent though.

Thankfully we have players like Ozil, Sanchez, Ramsey and Walcott who can carry him but it would really be a miracle to win the league with him upfront.

Name 40 strikers better than him (:

RG is right... There is no denying based on his ability he punches above his weight - his stats flatter his ability and that is in part because he has some of the best service in the world. He is living the target mans dream at the moment and probably doesn't capitalise as much as a better striker would.

You're right that no one can offer 40 strikers who are definitively better than him but there are a lot more than 40 who are on his approximate level and could perform just as well as a striker with the current arsenal midfield.

Don't get me wrong I love Giroud and he will have a place at Arsenal for the foreseeable future - I like his attitude and what he seems to bring to the dressing room - always puts in 100% and hes a damned good target man. But his lack of pace, his skillz and inconsistent finishing means is by no means world class. We want a top 10/15 striker, not a top 40.

my apologies for the banter intrusion

Giroud is the almost perfect backup CF. He's especially immense coming off the bench, has a ridiculous record iirc.

But we need someone quicker up front, Özil/Cazorla/Ramsey creativity basically goes to waste with Giroud up front. He has a good personal record but he damages the team collectively with some of his weaknesses which are lethal.

El Gunner wrote:

El Gunner wrote:Pls Armadillo that post by Mole was sarcasm based on old banter.

Just take this post out of context and bare as it is.
Me talking about Armadillos and Moles on an Internet forum. What has my life come to

It depends how you use him.  If you are expecting a top shelf CF that will carry your attack, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.  But, if you want a targetman CF that will demand defensive attention and have other scorers to share the load, he's very good.

For France NT, he played alongside Martial and Griezmann...  looked very good.  He's 3rd in the pecking order there.  But since those guys are both unselfish, he will get a lot of goals. CBs are forced to pay attention to him and the wing players have a lot of room. Germany actually moved CMs to help on the wing... but then that opened up the middle for the midfielders. It's all about combos.

The thing with Giroud (like most strikers) is that he needs to confidence of the manager...  he goes down the toilet if he's not feeling loved.

^ That sums it all up.

I agree somewhat but even as someone who "will demand defensive attention and have other scorers to share the load", I don't think he's very good. Like RG said, his link up play and hold up play is very inconsistent and erratic.

If I'm buying a forward for those reasons, they better have the ability to do that consistently well. For me, Giroud doesn't even quite do that.

He's not a bad player but for me he's not Arsenal quality unless he's a backup/rotation player.

Olivier Giroud has 14 goals in 20 games and is the 3rd quickest Arsenal player to reach 50 EPL goals after Thierry Henry and Ian Wright. Also has 11 in his last 13 as well as 27 in the calendar year.

Not being able to win the league with him up front is a myth. The supporting cast and competition he has for his spot is more important (ie Theo being able to oust him/relieve him when tired).

Wenger also had this to say: “If you look at the number of goals he has scored you have to give him credit. And he is not only a goalscorer – he works a lot for the team. He is among the best strikers in Europe."

“I believe because he is not the electric type of player and he makes less spectacular actions, he gets less credit. The kind of header he scored for the first goal [against Olympiakos], you do not get much credit for that – but he was there, he headed the ball and it’s an important goal.

It really does feel with Giroud that the skills he displays on the pitch don't match with the stats he puts up.

Faster to 50 PL goals than Bergkamp

When you're a shadow striker to Wright or Henry it aint that easy!

Yeah completely different positions. Bergkamp offers more in his left pinky than Giroud has offered his entire career.

Absolute magician who Giroud shouldn't be compared to, lest we insult Bergkamp.

Stunner from @_OlivierGiroud_ pic.twitter.com/kuE5curJu8

— Read Arsenal (@ReadArsenalFC) June 9, 2017

wtf

used to score a goal like that every day at school tbh

strange you don't see it irl, very rarely at least

https://imgtc.com/w/cRZ1qBi

He has some spectacular goals. Wonder how Arsenal fans will remember him in 50 years

A striker who was never good enough to hold down a starting place, and never really had the quality to be a starting striker for Arsenal, but who was a clutch player and sub, probably. They'll remember him for exactly who he is.

Better than Dzeko and that other tall player City spunked millions on. Just a shade below Zlatan if i am being honest

Dzeko is scoring these in the Champions League



Meanwhile, Giroud is doing athletics against some Eastern European farmers?

The English hype machine never ceases to amaze me