In Martin Keown’s column for the Daily Mail, the Arsenal legend has admitted that he doesn’t think Olivier Giroud quite feels at home yet.
The former defender praised the Frenchman’s performance against Olympiacos, where he scored his first hattrick for the club and helped us progress to the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
However, while he rates the striker, he reckons that if we’d had another option, he wouldn’t have even started against the Greek team and that the 29-year-old is still finding it hard to settle into the team.
“Football clubs should feel like a home and I’m not sure Giroud feels 100 per cent at home,” Keown said.
“But when he’s on song, he is such a good attacking option.
“He acts like a backboard for the rest of the team to base their attacks around.
“Whether he’s the long-term answer doesn’t matter right now. He’s in possession of the shirt and he has the chance to prove people wrong.”
Although I agree with Keown to a degree, I do think Giroud is genuinely forming a connection to the club. His relationship with the fans has been crucial in this. From day one he’s had his own song and, no matter how he’s doing, you can always hear it ringing out at matches.
If he doesn’t feel at home at the moment, hopefully he will soon.