This season, Olivier Giroud arrived from Montpellier, having won Ligue 1, and becoming the league’s top-scorer in with 21 goals. His arrival coincided with the departure of Robin van Persie to Manchester United, leaving the Frenchman with huge boots to fill. He didn’t score in his first eight games and Arsenal fans started dismissing him as a ‘flop’, especially after he missed a glorious chance against Sunderland in the league opener. Even now, many Arsenal fans I watch football with, still think he is a ‘flop’, not considering that he has now scored 16 goals and made 13 assists in his first-full season in England.
Gervinho is another player fans have come to hate. In fact many are already excited at the prospect of Galatasaray signing him! Some have even claimed that he doesn’t have the technique to play for Arsenal, which is a terrible conclusion, for me. According to Eden Hazard, the Ivorian is the best player he has played with, and I think that is quite a superlative, isn’t it? He needs more time to get his confidence back and he will display more of what we saw him do at Lille, at the African Cup of Nations and against Reading two days ago.
Aaron Ramsey, Per Mertesacker, Theo Walcott, Carl Jenkinson, Wojciech Szczesny, Laurent Koscielny and many others have all come under intense criticisms from Arsenal fans in the past. Such criticism has piled pressure on these players, brought into them an element of self-doubt, thus, despite their talent, the abuse has made them incompetent to the extent that Arsenal have fallen well off the pace in the title race, year after year after year.
Let’s not forget that Samir Nasri played inconsistently for nearly three years before he came to the fore, earning himself a lucrative move to City, so did Mathieu Flamini before he left for AC Milan on a Bosman. Our experience should suffice to let us know that many foreign players struggle in their first or second seasons in England and therefore need time and patience. Otherwise, Chelsea should have sold Didier Drogba after his first season, because many had branded him a ‘flop’ and look what he became at Chelsea! A legend!
Arsenal fans need to be patient with new players if they want them to realize their potential, if not, even if we did manage to sign Lionel Messi, Edinson Cavani or Radamel Falcao, they would all end up like Andriy Shevchenko and Marouane Chamakh, if they were put under pressure by the fans.
Remember Robert Pires? He spent a full season on the bench and became player of the year the following season.
Give the players time!
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All those calling on aresene out are dilusioned,he bought in carzorla,giroud and poldolski,and on stats not media fuelled arsenal hate propaganda have all made an impact,so the man knows what his doing + non of the ex gunner have issues with arsene they all love him but they all have issues with arsenal fans..,and if he goes who U going to bring in?…am an gunners supporter,I prefer the club being financially healthy and being competitive(3 finals and 4semi finals since 2005),rather than Making a 500mil dollar half year lose as man city.