Olivier Giroud has admitted that this his worst ever start to a season at Arsenal and is concerned about his position at the club.
Although Giroud was a regular for Arsene Wenger’s side last season, starting 26 of Arsenal’s 38 Premier League games, but the French forward has only managed 92 minutes thus far in the same competition.
The 30-year-old’s start to the campaign was delayed after Wenger decided to give him an extended rest following France making the Euro 2016 final, but it seems the decision from the manager has been a detrimental one for Giroud, who is now struggling to reclaim his spot in the starting line-up from Alexis Sanchez.
When asked by L’Equipe if this was his worst start to an Arsenal campaign, the Frenchman replied:
‘Yes, that is possible.
‘When I look from the stands at Arsenal, a team that plays well and made a very good start to the season, it seems my train leaves without me and I must not get too far behind.’
Despite his lack of game time this season, Giroud has managed to find the back of the net three times in eight outings, two of which he scored coming off from the bench.
He has made a difference from the sidelines already this season which led to this question being asked to Gunnersphere followers on Twitter on November 1st – ‘does the Frenchman have more of an impact coming off from the bench these days?’ – here were the results. Out of 47 votes cast, 77% agreed that Giroud is better off as an impact sub. 9% believe he should still be Arsenal’s first-choice striker, while 14% were undecided on the matter.
Yes, it is his worst start to an Arsenal campaign since his arrival from Montpellier in 2012, but considering his lack of starts for the club this season, his goal ratio isn’t too bad.
But with reports now suggesting that Sanchez has suffered a ‘low-grade muscular injury’ whilst on international duty with Chile, it looks like Giroud will be installed back into the starting line-up sooner rather than later – if of course the injury is a long-term one.
