Olivier Giroud has endured a bombardment of boos from his French fans who sought to vent their disappointment of Karim Benzema’s absence on the hapless Arsenal striker.
He may not have had an exceptional season, yet, with his 16 Premier League goals, Olivier Giroud helped Arsenal to a respectable second place finish. He may not be Thierry Henry, he doesn’t come close to being my favourite number nine, the France international still deserves more respect than he is receiving from Arsenal and French fans.
The man who has presided over some of Arsenal’s worst seasons is not happy that his French fans are aiming jibes at him because of Karim Benzema’s absence. Placed in the same position as the French fans, I would have done exactly the same. I just hate seeing those scoring opportunities, from the edge of my seat, go by without them being converted.
Does that mean abuses aimed at our front-man are justified?
The 29-year old thinks “that the people who booed me were not anti-Giroud, but pro-Benzema.” That may not be the complete truth; I think Giroud was booed because his misfiring efforts led to France’s defeat in the hands of Portugal. And just last night, a litany of near-misses was all Giroud had to offer his 7th ranked French side in a drab goalless draw with Belarus who are ranked 70th in the world.
As the booing incident news rages on relentlessly, Olivier Giroud has reluctantly relinquished his poster-boy ‘hottest French player’ image to his rising team mate, Antoine Griezmann.
As if that was not enough, our own very Gooners joined in distressing the French Arsenal striker even further. Some Arsenal fans believe Ozil’s Balboa pooch is better on football than Giroud. That’s a terrible thing to say, you would think.
Giroud is almost guaranteed to face formidable rivalry in Arsenal’s newest signing, Lucas Perez, but he is not budging. Last season, Perez may have played for the struggling Deportivo La Coruna but he still found the back of the net more than Giroud who had an assortment of supplies from the likes of Ozil, Sanchez, Cazorla, Ramsey, to name but a few.
Giroud may not have to endure any more attacks; the dugout might help shield him if and when Perez overtakes him.
