Arsenal: Olivier Giroud Finally Hearing Whispers Of Respect

Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud is not one to be praised lightly. Every single move he takes is under intense scrutiny, but at least he has earned one man’s respect.

It was the cool thing to do to gripe and moan about Olivier Giroud over the past couple years. Most Arsenal supporters were convinced that he was the worst thing to ever happen to this club, despite the fact that he turned up pretty consistent goal numbers and put in some hard days at the office.

Related: Arsenal’s Top 15 Strikers Of All Time

It didn’t matter, the lamp post was never going to be an elite striker.

Well, this year has been a different story. Given some accompanying strikers to lighten the burden, Giroud has been amazing and, more importantly, he hasn’t been part of the massive problem.

And that’s saying something.

Between his scorpion kick that better win goal of the year and the goal tallies he has put up, Giroud may finally have turned the corner into acceptance.

Adding fuel to that fire is Thierry Henry. The King was rather harsh on Giroud last year, stating that the Gunners couldn’t win the title with him, but he quickly reneged on that and said what he meant was that they couldn’t win the title with him alone.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

Yeah, okay.

Anyway, Henry is singing a different tune now, and at a time where we are looking for some sort of beacon of light, perhaps Henry is indicating that we can look to Giroud.

“Today, he is doing extraordinary work, and when he comes on, he does what he has to do. He scores, he’s good with his back towards the goal. I would have liked to play with him,” Henry said, as quoted by the Metro, after defending his own lambasting of Giroud last year.

That’s pretty high praise coming from someone who played alongside Dennis Bergkamp. I’m not going to make any unnecessary comparisons, but I have always said that Giroud could have been so much more with a supporting cast.

Also known as, he could have done so much more in a different era. In an era where the team wasn’t restrained by their inability to build a team beyond bargain buys and youngsters.

Next: Arsenal's 30 Greatest Players Ever

Giroud is a massive talent, literally and figuratively, and it’s a wonderful thing that Henry is coming out and saying this. Particularly at a time where most Arsenal supporters are a bit down in the dumps.