Arsenal: Finally Some Respect For Olivier Giroud

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud is the target of many not-so-positive opinions, but he has finally found some well-deserved respect from John Stones.

Few things ruffle my feathers more than a lack of respect for Olivier Giroud. I understand the man has flaws. He isn’t perfect. He is slow. He has finishing issues on occasion and he’ll go on a cold streak from time to time. But the man receives so much disrespect from France and Arsenal fans and their reasoning is so flimsy.

French fans simply boo him because he isn’t Karim Benzema. They ignore the fact that he has very good international striking numbers and he continues to deliver for them. His team mates have to come to his defense, as Patrice Evra did. Again, who do you think knows his quality better, a long time team mate or a fickle fan?

For Arsenal, he is a unique brand of striker that no one else in the Premier League has. A hold-up, physical striker that has to use strength to and size to establish space and score goals. It is a thankless job. If the goals aren’t flowing, the love stops. No matter the fact that his physicality and strength in the box is what frees up space for his team mates. It is that strength that occupies the two center backs and gives Ozil room to find passes, Alexis room to cut in and Ramsey room to make his penetrating runs. Their jobs are made easier by Giroud.

But most people don’t see that.

Giroud scores goals. Most are headers and one-touches because that’s just the position he finds himself in. They are goals, no? Apparently not, because people still complain and call him a one-trick pony.

All because he isn’t flashy. He doesn’t meg his way through defenders and make defenses look bad. He just does his job. And Arsenal benefit.

If there is any grievance that is hard to defend, it is his cold streaks like we saw this year. But how can we blame him for those and not Wenger, for never finding any sort of adequate competition in four years at Arsenal? Every single player has down time. Robert Lewandowski began the year in a cold streak. Ronaldo had a slow spell as well. It happens to everyone. But no other team relies on their striker quite like Arsenal rely on Giroud. 18-1-2 when he contributes to a goal. That’s pretty overwhelming.

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Yet the love and respect is lacking and it is a massive shame.

Well, a Premier League defender has come to the Frenchman’s side. John Stones referred to Giroud as the hardest striker to mark when put up against Sergio Aguero and Luis Suarez.

“I mean they are great players, with unbelievable movement. In all honesty, I’d have to say Olivier Giroud, you don’t realise how strong he is, when he gets close to you he can hold you off and his touch is brilliant,” he said, as quoted by the Metro.

Finally! Someone has some respect for the big man!

You can see it on the pitch for Arsenal and France. Defenders put in so much more work when tasked with defending a physical defender that is constantly in their zones, boxing them out and fielding passes. They never get a let up and for anyone physically smaller than Giroud, such as John Stones, it can be a nightmarish 90 minutes.

Next: 5 Reasons Not To Sell Olivier Giroud

Giroud isn’t perfect. No one is. But it is so refreshing to see someone highlight his positives, of which there are plenty.

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