Giroud’s rise continues despite Arsenal hiccup

He is so vain he probably thinks the songs are about him but in Olivier Giroud’s case he’s often right.

The Arsenal PA system finally caught up with what the fans have been singing for a year and a half when they played the Beatles ‘Hey Jude’ before kick-off on Tuesday night.

Regular Arsenal supporters realised there was more than good looks to Giroud from day one following his £13 million move from Montpellier last summer, chanting ‘Na na na naaa... ...Giroud’ ad infinitum.

It was the soundtrack to Arsenal’s season on what passes for terraces these days and the tune is now reaching a wider audience in the Frenchman’s potentially difficult second year.

Giroud’s desire to look his best on and off the pitch should not mask a thoroughly professional approach to the sport.

He scored 17 goals from 47 appearances in his debut season and could possibly have scored more had he not been so selfless.

Despite that promising start, Arsenal were still linked with new forwards throughout the summer, most notably Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez and Karim Benzema, his rival for a place in the French national team.

Giroud reacted by welcoming any potential additions to the Arsenal squad, seeming to relish the challenge and seeing the need for support. But no-one else has come in yet and he has got on with his job in style, his goal in Arsenal’s battling 2-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday his seventh of the season on top of four assists.

The way Arsenal play these days, fluctuating from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1, they need a big strong forward with the ability to do the dirty work, hold the ball up and bring others into play. Few are better suited than Giroud.

At 27, the 6ft 3in French international seems to be maturing into an all-round quality footballer, with an excellent work ethic to match the care he takes over his appearance.

Sure, he made an impact at Montpellier, scoring the goals to lead them to the Ligue 1 title ahead of more established clubs such as PSG and Marseille, but he had been knocking around the lower divisions for years before that and Wenger was one of the few top-flight coaches ready to take a punt on him at the highest level.

Now Arsenal’s main concern is not whether or not Giroud will produce, it is whether he will stay fit. Injured duo Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski are Arsenal’s best bets to lead the line should Giroud get injured. Otherwise they are down to Nicklas Bendtner.

Fortunately, for all concerned, Giroud has a track record of playing lots and lots of football and his appetite remains undiminished.

He was one of Arsenal’s better players when so many were out-muscled and out-thought by Dortmund on Tuesday and aside from setting up chances for Tomas Rosicky and others, he regularly made life difficult for the famed central defensive pairing of Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic.

His trademark powerful run to the near post ultimately forced Hummels into an error that led to him scoring Arsenal’s second half equaliser before they naively succumbed to a late counter-attack and defeat.

Speaking in the wake of Arsenal’s first loss in 13 matches, Giroud said: “I feel good.

“Maybe I will have some rest next week, for the Capital One Cup against Chelsea, I will speak to the boss. I’m used to playing a lot of games and I feel good with my body so touch wood, no injuries. Over the years I’ve got used to playing a lot of games and I’m okay with my body.

“We finished the game better than them and that’s why I’m really disappointed because if we couldn’t win the game, we didn’t have to lose it. Maybe a draw at the end [would have been good]. In the Champions League it’s like that; about the details. I don’t want to find an excuse. We lost to Dortmund, but we have won almost every game apart from against Aston Villa and West Brom. It’s not the time to be really worried but we want to come back Saturday and win the game.”

The Saturday date is a trip to struggling Crystal Palace, who do not know where their next win is coming from.

Arsenal and Giroud will be hoping it is his song they are singing at Selhurst Park.