Olivier
Giroud’s assessment of Arsenal’s performance against Stoke last weekend is
frank. He has just been watching the video nasty of the first-half capitulation
and is not in the mood to make excuses.
‘Talent is
not sufficient and every team needs to fight to be competitive,’ he said. ‘We
had a lack of commitment and we have seen it on the video and we made mistakes
like we are young players. We have seen it but we want to learn from them and
not do it again.
‘We know
that we are strong, we have a good squad, that we have a lot of qualities in
the squad but without sometimes commitment. And maybe when you are not at 100
per cent sometimes, then you pay.’
It is a
stark conclusion from one of the players who was part of that defeated team –
he jokes that it was his ‘twin brother’ playing - though it is one with which
few would argue. Since then, of course, there has been the 4-1 win at
Galatasaray and on Saturday there is the clash with Newcastle, the team that
ended Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the season as Arsenal were going down to
Stoke.
But
Arsenal’s defeat prompted unusually ugly scenes as the team boarded the train
at Stoke to return to London, with players booed by their own fans and with an
extraordinary amount of vitriol reserved for manager Arsene Wenger. So caustic
and unpleasant was the incident that it shocked many, with Gary Lineker
labelling it ‘disgustingly disrespectful.’
‘We heard
the people, the supposed Arsenal fans criticise some of us, especially the
boss,' said Giroud, emphasising he is talking about the small number of fans
aiming the most offensive abuse at Wenger and not the majority of the
travelling support.
‘It was sad.
I’m not sure he deserved it. It’s always like that when you lose a game. You
have to question yourself, of course. But you can’t say we have to change
everything. He is the man for this situation and we aren’t even wondering if he
is or not.’
Giroud says he understands the anger. ‘Of course, because they want us
to win our games. We play for Arsenal and we are a big team and they quite
demanding with us and we understand that they are disappointed as well. That’s
why we want to show our strength and our reaction.’
Nevertheless,
his point is that when the fans attack Wenger, he feels they attack the team.
‘We will show solidarity and answer on the pitch. It gives us more strength to
fight together. We are a pack and when someone attacks the pack everyone wants
to defend our interest and our team-mates, our boss.
‘We are all
together. It was a really bad start at Stoke, especially when you are aware
that we’re going to have a lot of duels in the air. It’s even more
disappointing but for fans and for us, we will bounce back as soon as possible.
We have a great opportunity to do it at home against Newcastle. We want to
reach the top four as soon as possible.’
Every player
at Arsenal of course owes Wenger because he signed them for or promoted them to
the first team but Giroud insists that their loyalty run deeper than those
ties, the relationship's more complex. ‘It’s not because he signed me that he
is going to be kind with me. When I play well, he tells me but when I play s***
he tells me as well. There is no special treatment.’
But Giroud
seems up for the fight. Arsenal fans and outside observers would clearly
question whether this team can win the league with the frailties it showed at
Stoke and now being 13 points off the lead.
The game
against Newcastle is the club’s dedicated matchday to highlight the Arsenal
Foundation's work
‘It’s never
too late because there are two-thirds of the season to go, even if Chelsea had
a fantastic start, Man City as well. We need to improve on certain points and
that’s why we need to focus on our game and come back in the next one.
‘We’ve kept
our best players for two or three years since I came. The fans wanted some more
top players and the boss heard them and tried to bring in Mesut (Ozil) and
Alexis (Sanchez) and the other signings. We all want to reach a high
performance level and win some more trophies.
'That’s why
it is a great beginning of a great story with the FA Cup win last year and the
Community Shield. And this year we need time to build a great team but in the
squad we have the quality and the quantity so I’m not worrying about our
comeback.’
Of course,
Giroud has been written off before. He is not one of football’s child stars,
propelled into the limelight from a young age.
He was
deemed insufficiently good for Grenoble of the French second division and was
farmed out to Istres on loan and then joined Tours, also lower league clubs.
His manager at Grenoble, Mehmed Bazdarevic, once said that Giroud wasn’t good
enough for the elite – and he meant France's second tier.
WENGER DEFENDS RECORD
Having since
won the French league with Montpellier, joined Arsenal, won the FA Cup and with
23 goals last season, including one for France in the World Cup finals, he has
nailed that point. He laughs when the quote is brought up.
‘I needed
some time on the pitch so I decided to leave Grenoble, so he (Bazdarevic) was a
bit angry and he said, “Yeah, anyway you want to leave - but you don’t have the
level to play League One in France, even more in the second division.” But as a
young player, I needed some time on the pitch and so I decided to leave the
club.
‘When I won
the league with Montpellier, he was coaching Sochaux and we won 3-1 and I
scored a hat-trick. I said hello to him before the game – but I couldn’t find
him afterwards! So yeah, it was motivation, and you need to show your mental
strength on the pitch, It’s character, what you can show on the pitch -
afterwards people can always comment but it doesn’t affect me.’
So he is
ready for the battle for places now with Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck both
signed in the summer to boost Arsenal’s attack, the latter immediately after he
injured his ankle against Everton in August.
Giroud has
to endure a three-month lay-off whilst Sanchez and Welbeck both impressed
filling his spot. ‘I’m not worried about my place,’ he said. ‘It’s not about my
place but what each player can bring to the team.
'If I’m in
good form I will play I’m sure and if I’m not doing well, I won’t play. It’s
about what you can bring to the team, what you can bring to the big machine. I
think we complement each other and we will all have a good role to play this
season. We just need to be together and to face difficulties together.’
He grew up
in the village of Froges, near Grenoble in the Rhone-Alpes region of France and
the day of interview has been something of a throwback to his schooldays, with
Giroud joining in a training session with pupils from St Mark’s School, which
is within a long football punt of the Emirates Stadium.
Saturday’s
game against Newcastle is the club’s dedicated matchday to highlight the work
of the Arsenal Foundation for young people and the 3G football pitch at St
Mark’s is one of 13 facilities part-funded by the club, which also runs
after-school clubs. Giroud approaches the day’s duties with an enthusiasm which
suggests he is quite at ease in the environment.
‘I never had
a pitch like this at school,’ said Giroud. ‘We played on sand!’ Those days he
supported Marseille but when he was 10 years old he and his classmates began to
develop an affinity with a north London football club.
‘Of course,
Arsenal was my favourite team in the Premier League,’ he said, recalling how
Wenger was appointed manager in 1998 as Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira
inspired them to the double in 1998. ‘When I was young I used to look up to the
Frenchies in Arsenal so it’s a great feeling to have reached Arsenal - and to
be a Frenchie! The boss’s good work is really respected in France and you know
that in signing for Arsenal you will improve yourself.’
Sometimes it
is easy to forget just how revered Wenger is and what he has done
Olivier Giroud will join the manager and Arsenal
team-mates in donating a day’s wages to The Arsenal Foundation at Arsenal’s
dedicated charity matchday on Saturday. The Arsenal Foundation funds projects
which give young people a chance to thrive.
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