(All statistics in this piece are from WhoScored and Squawka.)
Over a year ago, I wrote ‘Olivier Giroud: A bit more than what meets the eye’ for Football Paradise. The Frenchman has already come a long way since then, with his second season just gone. But go on to any Arsenal forum or blog, or just have a peek at Twitter and you will find a wide array of opinions on Giroud – ranging from he’s not fit to wear the Arsenal shirt, to he’s a good striker but we need better, to he’s exactly what we need only if he improves in certain areas. I’m here to provide a level-headed response based on a few observations and statistics.
Bought in the summer of 2012 following the departure of Robin Van Persie, Giroud arrived with unrealistic expectations on his shoulders before he had even kicked a ball in an Arsenal shirt. In a first season that was a mixed bag, he scored 11 goals in the League (34 total appearances) and 2 in the Champions League (7 total appearances) with 3 and 4 assists respectively. A pretty respectable total for any newcomer or regular in the English Premier League.
With 16 goals and 8 assists in 36 PL appearances in the 2013-14 season, the Frenchman has certainly moved ahead. A 22 goals tally from all competitions in a second season at a club like Arsenal is a good return from the main centre-forward. It is not his fault that Wenger hasn’t brought in another striker to ease the pressure off of him, and to his credit, he has improved – on his own merits as well as with the arrival of Ozil, the explosive form of Ramsey and the growing understanding between him and his team-mates. You can also see it in his general confidence and on-pitch attitude which has steadily increased after a slow, inconsistent start in his debut season.
But a large part of his impact isn’t measurable, simply because it is about how his game and style suits Arsenal’s and how he’s one part responsible for making it work. Arsenal is very much a team that favours a heavy passing game. For it to succeed, small, speedy, technically superior and creative players are needed, and the effectiveness depends largely on the telepathy, interconnectivity and perfection of the short passes and pings between the various members of the team. However, it also needs someone like Giroud, a tall, imposing player who is adept at holding up the ball, chasing down the long balls and creating space for these smaller players to run into, especially in the opponent’s 6 yard box. It needs a player like him on set-pieces at both ends of the pitch. Arsene Wenger echoes this sentiment of feeling safer with Giroud in the side. Because according to him,
The Arsenal system of play works so well when everything clicks and part of the reason is because Giroud is not just an old-fashioned, physical target-man. He may be a crucial runner adding a bit of directness to an Arsenal side often accused of trying to walk the ball into the goal, but for a guy of his height and physique, his light touches and flick-ons are surprisingly accurate and beautifully delicate.
If you compare the passing stats from last season to this one, there is a definite improvement, as well as an increase in the number of passes which points to the kind of game Arsene Wenger wants his team to play –
In 2012-13, Giroud had a pass success rate of 64% in the PL with a total of 34 key passes (an average of 1 per game), 3 assists and a total of 697 in 34 games (an average of 20.5 per game).
This season, while the average of key passes has remained 1, his assists have gone up to 8, while the total number of passes in 37 games has shot up to 1114 (an average of 30.9 per game) with a PL pass success rate of 69%.
Now I’m aware that statistics can prove whatever we want to, but there is some essential truth in them. While I’m not trying to break every component of Giroud’s play and talents into numbers, I’m trying to show that his strengths are improving, as are his weaknesses to a certain extent.
For a tall guy, Giroud’s headers, though decent, are nothing to write home about, and he instead seems to prefer to work with his feet. Though if you look at the statistics with his aerial challenges and headers, you can see a bit more development – in the 2012-13 Premier League season he had an average of 3.9 aerial duels won per game (131/232 in total), while this season it’s gone up to 4.1 aerial duels per game (146/275 in total)
Philippe Auclair recently told Arseblog that,
“Giroud loves to play with ‘first intention’ as we say in French; somebody who can flick the ball around the corner, is always looking for a quick solution when the tempo of the game has to be accelerated. He’s always looking to create something, a creator in the box. It’s something that Arsenal have been lacking for a while.”
The Frenchman himself agrees with this,
Olivier Giroud is a very versatile sort of forward in that sense. His movement is generally restricted in the central channels, in and around the box, an area where he is the strongest. This can make him easier to mark and dispossess, but all that attention still gives Arsenal’s midfield time and freedom to work their magic, which is ultimately to their advantage, and Giroud can thus be deployed as a very successful decoy. He’s also a creator, someone who can pick out the pass in the box to a team-mate, someone who will be able to visualise a pinpoint pass and execute it more often than not. His first thought when in and around the box isn’t to find a way towards goal, but what team-mate he can create that space and chance at goal for.
Case in point is the stunning goal of the season scored by Wilshere against Norwich back in November. Jack may have been the scorer, but it was a team goal through and through, one symbolising everything this Arsenal side is striving to be consistent in. And Giroud’s part in it cannot be ignored. He passed the ball to an incoming Wilshere, who flicked it back to him. The Frenchman flicked the ball back through two defenders to Jack, who only had to stick a leg out for it to nestle into the back of the net. And all of this happened within seconds.
In my previous article, I had stated that,
The key word in my above statement is ‘share’. I strongly believe that we need a wiry, speedy sort of striker to complement Giroud’s play and offer us a different option when Arsenal’s plan A isn’t working. Not a striker to replace the Frenchman altogether. He’s improved in his understanding with fellow teammates and the extra work put in on the training ground is slowly manifesting itself on the pitch. But the fact remains that he isn’t the kind of fox-in-the-box sort of player who bangs in goals galore or a genius like for example Theirry Henry who could conjure something out of nothing. And if Arsenal are to improve their record against the big teams, they will need to add a player like that to their squad.
Giroud gets into good positions himself and is capable of scoring some stunners (his 20th vs West Ham is one very recent example), but his goals to shots ratio still needs much work – he had 112 shots and averaged approximately one goal every seven shots with a 0.4 goals per game ratio. As compared to last season, there is a small improvement, but not a marked one, and this is where he needs to put in more practice. However, he is a very self-aware sort of player who knows this already. He told the lovely Vincent (@GrooverBlog) recently that,
But help in the form of a partner striker would certainly speed up the process and help his cause with the doubting fans. Giroud also pointed out that he needs his team mates to be efficient to play at his best. Knowing the kind of player he is, and the kind of style he’s suited to, it’s no surprise. This current side is all about the togetherness, the aesthete of play all about team-work and achieving that perfection. It makes more sense to add to this stability and strength Arsenal have been building up on, rather than buy a fancy, expensive star like so many have been clamouring for. Don’t get me wrong, we are lacking a consistent Ozil sort of ‘magic when we need it most’ player up front, but I feel that the answer lies with finding the right partner to balance the attributes that Giroud lacks or is weak in, and add to the strengths that continue to be evident where and when it matters. That delicious back-heel at the near post by the Frenchman in the FA Cup final to Aaron Ramsey will go down as part of Arsenal folklore. It didn’t involve outrageous skill, but captured Olivier Giroud’s essence at the club.
Anushree Nande is part of the Football Paradise family. You can follow her on Twitter at @AnuNande
