Arsene Wenger has challenged Olivier Giroud to improve his goalscoring record and be recognised alongside the world’s best strikers.
Giroud bagged a brace against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup last week, taking his tally to eight goals in 16 appearances in all competitions so far this season, and is a goal shy of his 50th for the Gunners.
But Wenger believes the French forward, whose current strike rate is one goal every 1.8 games, can achieve better:
‘I want those numbers to go down even more – he can do one in one.
‘When you look at the numbers of the top strikers now, they approach 1.1, 1.2 and I think Olivier has the quality to get there.’
Giroud has steadily improved since arriving to the Emirates from Montpellier in 2012 – scoring 17 goals in 47 total appearances in his first campaign at Arsenal and 22 in 51 last season.
So far this term, the French international has found the back of the net eight times in 16 outings in all competitions but missed the first three-months of the season due to a broken fibula.
But despite his developments in other areas of his game, can Giroud improve his goalscoring record further and be placed alongside the world’s best strikers?
It’s his third season at Arsenal and, at 28, I don’t believe he will improve to the point that you can compare him to the likes of Sergio Aguero or Diego Costa.
He’s a decent finisher but not a prolific one and I think Wenger is putting unneeded pressure on the Frenchman by asking him to score more. He’s a target man and a forward who likes to hold up the ball and bring those around him into play, and that’s why you will not see him scoring as many goals as other strikers in the Premier League or around Europe.
