Former Montpellier striker, Olivier Giroud was under loads of pressure after his £10 million move to the Emirates Stadium last summer. The 27-year-old was expected to fill the boots of former Gunners captain Robin van Persie, and those were some big boots to fill as the Dutchman had blasted 37 goals in his last season before departing for Manchester United.
It is no easy feat to perform from the get-go in the Premier League if you’re a foreigner, and Giroud found out the hard way how tough, and physically demanding, the English league is. However, the tall forward improved as the season progressed and played his part in the Gunner’s end-of-season form. He finished his debut campaign with 17 goals and 10 assists in 47 matches in all competitions for the north London club.
He has looked really sharp and threatening this season and has already scored 6 in 10 games for Arsenal, who are currently at the top of the table in the Premiership. The critics have been silenced for now, but the France international has not forgotten the early criticism he received in England.
According to ESPN, he said, “At a point in time last year, certain things annoyed me. I wasn’t hurt, I wouldn’t go that far. But they pi**ed me off. You run yourself into the ground on the pitch, you do yourself in, and you get the impression that people didn’t see the game. At the end of the match, they just look at the score and don’t see the content.”
He also admitted that he put more pressure on his shoulders to replace van Persie. He said, “When I arrived last year, subconsciously, I perhaps put myself under more pressure than I do today, perhaps too much because I’d ‘replaced’ Van Persie. I tried to keep myself free of that, but of course I thought about it.”
“At the start of last season, honestly, I wasn’t doing the right things. When it came to finishing, I was tense. You would have said I was as stiff as a stick. By winning my place over the course of the matches, I played a little less with the handbrake on.”
The Frenchman also scored in the Gunner’s 2-0 defeat of Napoli on Tuesday night and has spoken about his pride of representing the club in the Champions League. He said, “When you arrive in this position, you have to have ambition, know what you’re getting yourself into. Now, you’re in the big boy’s playground. I wanted to be here, at a big club, but you have to accept that afterwards. I say it again, I’m happy with my first season and I’m happy with my good start to this season. Frankly, I’m really enjoying myself right now.”
Giroud’s fine performances has seen Arsenal occupy top spot in the Premier League and also in the Champions League’s group F table, dubbed as the group of death. If he can continue such impressive performances, and with the brilliance of Ozil and Ramsey in midfield, Arsenal look destined to end their long wait for silverware.