Did Olivier Giroud show his delusional side in this recent interview?

Now don’t get me wrong, Olivier Giroud has more than won me over since joining Arsenal, but his recent quotes are little misguided and a little misjudged.

When Giroud first moved to the Emirates last summer, I was one of those fans who immediately got on his back. I was wrong to do so.

At Arsenal we have been blessed with a wealth of attacking talent and Giroud just didn’t seem to fit into the Gunners’ mould. He’s a lumpy centre-forward, known more for his aerial dominance than his technical ability. Sure, he can out-muscle a defender, but does he have the mobility to get into dangerous areas and exploit space?

A lot of Arsenal fans had their doubts. But they were soon won over by his goal-scoring ability. He was Ligue 1’s top scorer last season and seems to have brought his form over to the Premier League.

Indeed, what he’s achieved already is quite remarkable. A lot of players need time to settle in, but Giroud looks right at home. The 26-year-old has scored 14 goals in 33 games and also provided 11 assists. Not too shabby.

Giroud has spoken to the Press regarding his form: “I do not know of an attacker who is not interested in his numbers. Since the beginning of the season, I registered 14 goals and given 11 assists. For the first season… It’s better than the beginning Van Persie had, even though when he arrived at Arsenal, he was younger.” (Source: The Metro)

I’m glad he’s keeping track and showing signs of ambition, but I think it’s a mistake to invoke Robin Van Persie’s name.

Yes, you’ve done well this season Ollie – but there’s no need to compare yourself to a player who first joined Arsenal at age 21. RVP was an injury hit youngster, who wasn’t fully along his developmental path.

Olivier Giroud, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have much room to grow. He’s a completely different player to RVP – more of an out-and-out goal-scorer – and certainly isn’t going to get much better technically.

Whilst I think his comments were misguided, in the same interview he said something that’s pretty sensible:

“As a striker you can’t doubt yourself – in a career you will have periods of scarcity,‘ he added. ‘You must be positive constantly and I’m like that. Here, it’s a requirement at a very high level. When you have an opportunity you must take it. When it’s not easy, you have to look ahead and demand more from yourself. That’s just my motto.”

Good for him! I hope he continues to improve, but I also hope he doesn’t keep RVP as his role-model.

What’s your take? Is Giroud right to compare himself to RVP?

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