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Olivier Giroud can be an Arsenal Legend Too

By Josh Sippie

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With all the talk about how Alexis Sanchez is the next Arsenal legend, I feel it is necessary to draw attention to another Arsenal man who has always been underrated, sometimes not even rated, who has all the makings of a potential Arsenal legend as well – Olivier Giroud.

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Save your scoffs and stuff them in a sack, if indeed you did scoff (in my mind, you did). Olivier Giroud flipped the switch into overdrive last year and really drew some eyes to what he was all about as a striker. Strangely enough, what he has been all about has not changed since he came to Arsenal – scoring goals.

As the former French Ligue 1 scoring champ during his days at Montpellier, Olivier Giroud has all the prerequisites to be a stone cold striker, and we have seen what he can do when he is switched on. Last year he went on a tear that was unmatched by anyone in the world of football other than Lionel Messi, with a goal per game ratio that hovered just under one.

It is hard to call it a fluke when it happens for 20+ straight matches.

Olivier Giroud is a goal machine and the best aerial threat in English football. He has scored 58 goals in his first three years with the club, and that was after a slow start and an injury-shortened breakout season. It is usual for a striker to require some acclimation time to get his feet under him at a new club. Now that he is hitting his prime with the club, Giroud may be on the fast track to Arsenal immortality.

When fleshing out where Olivier Giroud’s career could take him, lets consider Didier Drogba. Drogba came to Chelsea when he was 26, Giroud came to Arsenal when he was 25. Drogba is going to be remembered as a Chelsea legend (granted they do not have the history we do) for the amount of goals he put up for the Blues: 157 in 341 appearances. Pretty impressive.

What is more impressive is that Giroud scored his first 50 goals at Arsenal quicker than Drogba did at Chelsea. Drogba, too, had a tough time getting started and did not fully break out until his third year, where he scored 33 goals in 60 appearances for a clip of .55 goals per game (via WhoScored).

Similarly, Olivier Giroud also broke out in his third year, notching 19 goals in an injury shortened season that only nabbed him 36 appearances for a clip of .53 goals per game (via WhoScored).

Sounds pretty similar, no?

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Lets project those numbers out. Assuming Olivier Giroud will play into his young to mid thirties, like Drogba did and assuming Olivier Giroud stays healthy, which he has shown a penchant for, the Frenchman could feasibly score another 90 goals for Arsenal, if he averages between 30-40 appearances for the next five to six years. That is not the most unrealistic of goals.

90 more goals would put him at 148 career goals for the Gunners. That would be fifth on the all-time list, one behind John Radford (via Arsenal.com).

Granted, projections mean about as much as spoiled milk. To assume that Olivier Giroud can average the same .43 goals per game across six more years of 30+ appearances is a bit presumptuous, but it would not at all be unheard of.

The only thing standing in Olivier Giroud’s way is himself. He has admitted to confidence problems before and he has a tendency to go cold, but that kind of stuff can be amended. He has proven more dedicated than ever the further that Arsenal progress toward success. And with his new contract, he has committed his career to Arsenal for the next three years. In those three years alone he could notch another 40-50 goals and join the elite company of Arsenal strikers who have netted 100 goals.

Next: Has Jamaal Charles Lost a Step?

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