Actions speak louder than words, and lately, Olivier Giroud has been implementing the same which is evident from his stellar performances in the Arsenal shirt. Eyes closed, a sigh of relief, somewhat brief chest & crest thumping and the finger being pointed at his head (which has been the instrument of revitalisation in his form more often than not), the poster boy’s celebration post his goal at Arsenal’s nightmarish arena left an intangible message to be contemplated upon.
When Arsène Wenger entered the Old Trafford with the duo of Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny, it wasn’t unclear that the gaffer had come not to create any lapses or havoc. Courtesy of a Juan Mata first half goal and a lacklustre November-like performance from the Gunners for the major chunk of the second half, José Mourinho seemed to be an elated man, for he was imagining his side bagging all three points from the fixture. No, things don’t turn out to be so simple and easy in the Premier League, though and Saturday was no different.
Even the best goalkeeper in the business could not have saved Giroud’s bullet header in the dying minutes of the normal time (isn’t David De Gea the best one himself?!). A perfectly timed jump and a clinical finish, an amalgamation of the sign of frustration (mind you, the French striker has played merely four hours and ten minutes of football in total this season) as well as contentment (yes, Manchester United are still a big club, and a scary one for Arsenal) was seen from Giroud’s gesture which spoke volumes on the conundrum Monsieur Wenger finds himself in at the moment.
The 30-year-old striker has been employed basically as a deputy to Alexis Sánchez who has been deployed up front, but with four priceless goals in his last four appearances, Giroud has once again shown his charisma and the poaching instinct that has come to rescue the North London outfit on multiple occasions this season.
Considering the perspective that Sánchez might need some rest and is rapidly succumbing in the striker’s role, Giroud should be handed a deserving start at the Emirates Stadium against Paris Saint-Germain which can very well be the deciding fixture for the top spot in Group A in the Champions League.
The strong and commanding 6’4” striker has scored 4 goals from 8 appearances (which includes just one start). Despite a handful of undeniably prolific traits such as link-up play, making key passes, always being in and around the box, lethal finishing and making defensive contributions, Giroud had been often interrogated in the past regarding his consistency, which he needs to put on the tray this time around after he starts accumulating a place in the starting line-up for Arsenal once again, which might very well kick off against the Ligue 1 champions tonight.
