Arsenal: Here’s Why Wayne Rooney Puts Olivier Giroud To Shame

Olivier Giroud celebrated after equalising against Bournemouth. Wayne Rooney demanded his teammates get the ball, putting the Arsenal striker to shame.

In the early 2000s, the Premier League title race was contested between two clubs at the height of their powers. Under the guidance of two of the greatest managers in world football, Arsenal and Manchester United would regularly enter into a ding-dong battle to determine who was the superior for any given year.

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Both teams were serial winners, boasting, not only the technical and physical skill required to excel throughout a long and arduous season, but also possessing a winning attitude, a perspective that is wholly orientated around being the best, where nothing less is acceptable.

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In more recent years, though, the winning culture that was established by both managers was sustained by one and squandered by the other. Sir Alex Ferguson remained ruthless in his quest for success, imparting the same resilient, single-minded goal with his players. Arsene Wenger could not do the same.

Arsenal became soft. They were unable to win the tough games, were defensively deficient and lost sight of the ambition that maintained their excellent standards early during Wenger’s tenure.

All this, in a rather about way, brings me to the recent contrasting behaviours of Wayne Rooney, the man who symbolised Manchester United in the 21st century, and Olivier Giroud, the Frenchman who tends to embody many of the intangible issues that have plagued the Arsenal squad.

After he scored to haul his team out of a three-goal hole with a last-gasp strike away at Bournemouth, Giroud decided to pay homage to his own greatness, imitating the contorted, over-the-head-back-heel that wowed the world just a matter of days before. Rooney, on the other hand, after firing a stunning free-kick, arcing the ball into the far top corner to equalise away at Stoke City on Saturday, with a matter of moments remaining, did not celebrate, did not gloat, did not turn the attention to himself.

Rather, he pointed to the ball and demanded that his teammates collect it with his sights set on greater glory. “I wanted to get back to the halfway line and get a second goal”, Rooney said after the game, highlighting the difference in attitude between himself and Giroud.

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Celebrating a goal is no bad thing. In fact, Giroud likely only cost his team a handful of seconds with his showmanship. However, it is the picture the behaviour portrays that is so damaging. Rooney had winning on his mind. Giroud did not.