Arsenal: Olivier Giroud Will Go Down As Massive Success Story

Arsenal has inked their French trio to prolonged stays at the Emirates, reminding us that Olivier Giroud must go down as a massive success story.

Sometimes I like to think of players as resume builders for managers. Who can this manager point to when he needs a job and say “look what I did with him.” With Arsenal, there are plenty of hit and miss opportunities.

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Yaya Sanogo, for instance, is one of the biggest whiffs in Wenger’s career. But then you have guys like Thierry Henry, who more than balance it out.

Olivier Giroud is a guy that I’m sure a lot of you think should go more in the Sanogo category than the Henry category. He has been here for half a decade now and he is still not Henry, after all. How dare he masquerade as an Arsenal front man?

However, Wenger has every right to sing the praises of Giroud and point to him as a major success story. And it looks like he already is.

“I believe technically he has improved tremendously and that he has qualities that nobody else has. On top of that, he’s a fighter,” Wenger said, via Arsenal.com.

“He can have a challenge, face it and put the effort in ready to achieve it. Overall, I think he’s a much more complete player than when he arrived.”

I can’t think of a better way to describe the bearded French wonder. The man is a fighter, moreso than he was when he arrived, and for that, he probably has the cynical fans to thank a bit. When you are constantly being jeered, all you can do is strive to do better and he is doing just that.

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Giroud is a master at what he does. But that doesn’t mean that he is just a master at being a target man. His link-up play, which has grown by leaps and bounds since he arrived, is an inspiration to see. I still believe it’s what inspired the Lucas Perez signing. Wenger wanted another option that could link up play like Giroud.

The big man is a special talent that just gets a bad rap for being good at the wrong things. Even this year we have seen his fight levels improve. I always think back to Monaco in the Champions League and marvel over the fact that I know that could never happen again. Giroud has too firm of a grasp on what he is and what he can do.

Take all his late goals for instance. Giroud of 2013 would have never done that. He was often accused of being a lamp post and a flat-track bully. Well look at him now. The only criticism people can find to throw at him is that he danced when he shouldn’t have.

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Long live Olivier Giroud. Looking forward to another three years.