Arsenal legend Ian Wright has given his verdict on the club’s two newest acquisitions – German international Lukas Podolski and French forward Olivier Giroud.
The ex-England international and SunSport columnist wrote:
‘When a player has done well in the Bundesliga, they generally impress in the Premier League. That’s why I am pleased ARSENAL have signed Lukas Podolski for £11m from Cologne.
‘He is an established German international and it’s good to see Arsenal sign a striker like this. Whether Podolski gets the chance to play with Van Persie remains to be seen.’
He added:
‘Striker Olivier Giroud has arrived from Montpellier for £13m and is another player who has done well in France. But I just hope his impact is better than Marouane Chamakh who came from Bordeaux, started well and then fizzled out.’
To be fair, I think Wright’s assessment on the two new Gunners is pretty accurate.
While I think Podolski will come into the side and shine – as most players do when they come from the Bundesliga – I do have my doubts about Giroud doing the same – despite his goal-scoring record for Montpellier last season.
I just hope he doesn’t replicate Chamakh’s impact – he comes in, starts off well and then fizzles out. While there is a possibility of this happening – purely because the Ligue 1 is no where near the Premier League in terms of competitiveness – I do believe Olivier is far more talented than Marouane. So hopefully lightning doesn’t strike twice.
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very good analysis….french league players struggle in the prem generally..although some shine after a season of “toughening up”.
I do not agree with Ian. Drogba came from ligue 1 and dominated.Benzema,Ba.. and so on.
My point is Podi can easily be a arshavin, which i highly doubt though because arsh is still a brilliant player.
Marouane Chamakh has got excellent heading ability and great first touch.The boy can hold up play and passes well.His only problem is that he has a very weak shot off both feet and that has made him a easy player to defend against.Just keep him out of the box and he will never score.
Olivier Giroud is a mix of Vela,Chamakh and Malouda.Very well timed runs behind the strikers,excellent heading ability and lethal long range short.Watch his youtube and count how
many screamers he rattled the net with.
My verdict is that Giroud could do better than poldi and this is going to be the best squad since invincibles even if VP goes.I hope Walcot stays thouh.
i think Chamakh still remains a good player but suffers from inferiority complex which has badly affected his confidence, he started well then fizzled out. He cant tell me he has forgotten how to score at 27.
Just because Chamack and Giroud come from the same country doesn’t make them the same player!!! With in depth analysis like that thank God Wrighty didn’t become a manager!
Which country did Henry come from? 😉