Giroud goal vs Everton

Read More»

Giroud: Arsenal don't need a new striker in January

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has urged Arsene Wenger not to buy a striker in the January transfer window.

The Gunners came from behind to beat West Ham on Boxing Day thanks to two goals from Theo Walcott and one from the returning Lukas Podolski, before Giroud struck the decisive goal against Newcastle on Sunday, and the France striker believes the club are well-stocked in attack.

"We have the players to play up front," he said in an interview aired by Canal+ on Sunday morning, before his strike saw off the Magpies at St James' Park. "Lukas is having a good come-back. Theo can play as a striker. We have the quality and the quantity. If the coach wants me to rest, he can do it without buying a new striker. I would rather not see a new striker come in.

"I always have to recover, to get massages, to eat well, to sleep well. This is how we live. I am lucky to not be injury-prone. I have a body that tolerates the accumulation of games."

Giroud's winner against Alan Pardew's side was his first league goal in five outings, and he admitted that things have not been going well for him following a blistering start to the campaign.

"Not to score, for a forward, is a bit boring," he continued. "There's a lack of luck... not being in the right place at the right time. Luck was on my side at the start of the season. Not any more.

"I know my quality, I know it's going to come back. As a striker, I'm the first defender of the team. It’s always a pleasure to help the team win back the ball. This is modern football, it's all about pressing."

Read More»

Owen slams Ozil : Arsenal have no world class players

Arsenal have no world class players and Mesut Ozil has been far too inconsistent since his transfer from Real Madrid, according to Michael Owen.

Arsene Wenger's side are perched at the top of the Premier League with 35 points after 16 games, though their form has wavered with consecutive defeats against Napoli and Manchester City.

Though he reserved praise for Olivier Giroud, the former Real Madrid attacker ripped into Ozil's performances since arriving in the Premier League and suggested Arsenal will drop off from the title race unless they sign another striker.

"There is little doubting that Wenger's men are now a well-oiled machine," Owen wrote on social networking site Sportlobster.

"The players all know their jobs inside out with Wenger rarely changing his system and against the lesser lights in the league I always fancy them to out-score their opponents.

"It is against the big boys where I think they could struggle as, in my opinion, they don't have the class of player to go toe-to-toe with the main title contenders.

"Despite people constantly telling me that Mesut Ozil is world class, his inconsistency means that we only see occasional glimpses of real quality.

"His odd good performance is usually followed by half a dozen poor ones and despite Giroud performing admirably, unless Wenger acquires a new striker to help share the load, they could just tail off the longer the season goes on."

Read More»

Giroud : I'm back in top form

Olivier Giroud has credited his team-mates with playing "beautiful" football in France's 6-0 win over Australia.

The Arsenal striker notched two goals within the opening 30 minutes as les Blues geared up for their final Group I World Cup qualifying game against Finland on Tuesday in style.

Giroud is in fine form for club and country, with eight goals in 15 outings, but was keen to congratulate the other members of the France squad as they subjected Australia to a second consecutive six-goal loss, resulting in the dismissal of manager Holger Osieck.

"The first goal, I try it sometimes and if it does not work people say it's because I have not played well, but when it comes off, it come off," Giroud told L'Equipe.

"The second goal was a beautiful team movement. I hope to see more of that in the future.

"To assess a striker, he must perform on the big occasions. Tonight, I was provided with many chances so I could perform.

"To score goals, the France team needs several good strikers. We are fortunate to have two strikers who complement different tactics.

"I am very happy for me, but also for Karim [Benzema] who scored. It's good for us to score, but also for les Bleus."

Read More»