Arsenal: Olivier Giroud floodgate awfully close to bursting

Arsenal gave Olivier Giroud a full 90 minutes to score his 100th goal and he just couldn’t do it. This is going to end soon, and in grand fashion.

Olivier Giroud, aside from being one of the most heavily criticized players in the modern game, is also about to become one of Arsenal’s greatest strikers ever. He has been sitting on 99 goals since August 11th and here we are, over a month later, and he still has 99 goals.

It’s been torturous to watch because it feels like with each shot that goes astray, the weight pushes down on him more and more.

Against Doncaster Rovers, you could feel the floodgates waiting to burst open. The incredibly athletic bicycle maneuver that he fired off the crossbar would have been one hell of a way to join the 100 club, but it just wasn’t to be.

Chances kept passing him by and the big 100 eluded him. Now we have to wait to see if he can punch home from a substitute appearance against West Brom or, if not, when the Gunners return to the Euro League the following Thursday.

You can hear the floodgates creaking. When that 100th goal goes in and the floodgates get demolished, you can expect the same Giroud that asserted himself as one of the most efficient strikers in the Premier League last year, scoring every 100 minutes (there’s that 100 again, it’s everywhere).

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We’ve been here before. But never on such a mile stone number. Giroud can bog himself down in his own head sometimes and psyche himself out of goals. Once he escapes that dark wilderness, it’s a free-flowing font of form.

And the best part is that it doesn’t even feel like he’s clogged up or bogged down. His misses haven’t been horrible. It’s not like he’s punting the ball over the net or scuffling easy chances.

He had two attempted overhead kicks against Doncaster and a header that he narrowly missed getting on top of. If this is the new version of being clogged up, then there may yet be even more upside to the big Frenchman’s game.

I must say though, it wouldn’t have been right for Giroud’s 100th goal to be wasted in a match we were already set to win. Seems too ordinary. Giroud has made such a habit of coming in late in games and punching home crucial goals that it just wouldn’t do to have it any other way.

Next: Arsenal vs Doncaster Rovers Player Ratings

West Brom play a fierce defense. Not so much away from home, but it can still be tough. Let’s see Giroud score his 100th in spectacular fashion. That will show the floodgates who’s boss.

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