Arsène Wenger has praised Olivier Giroud for channelling his inner Diego Costa. The Arsenal coaching staff had encouraged the French forward to use his power in a more focused way, making him much more of a challenge for defenders as Chelsea’s Brazilian has done so determinedly this season. Wenger is delighted with the transformation in Giroud. “Sometimes he needed to be challenged physically to become really that animal he can be,” the Arsenal manager said.
Having cut out some of the complaining about the knocks a lone forward inevitably takes, Wenger also points out the improvement in Giroud’s all-round play - protecting the ball, releasing team-mates and in finishing.
“He has the kind of game which is linked with having his back to goal, so he gets hit a lot. Sometimes that game demands as well more commitment and toughness,” said Wenger. “Olivier has a fantastic body strength. I prefer the word commitment to aggressive - completely committed. But he is a player who has improved tremendously technically. You look at some pictures of Olivier Giroud when he arrived and today he is a different player.”
His goals-per-game ratio has improved season on season since he arrived in England in the summer of 2012. Wenger is full of admiration for the way Giroud continues, even at the age of 28, to improve. It is a consequence of the hunger that stems from starting his career in the lower divisions.
“When a guys plays at 20 in Division Three [in France] and gets up into the national team, there is some mental strength there. It is not easy. We have a few like that, [Laurent] Koscielny was similar. They have gone through the lower levels and had to look up there and to dream. Once they get there, they stay there.”
It was notable at Wembley last Saturday how differently Arsenal functioned when Giroud replaced Danny Welbeck as the focal point of the attack. The odd rest is necessary, Wenger reckons, because of the physical demands of this position. But Giroud can expect to be back in the thick of it for the visit of Chelsea on Sunday.
He has never scored against Chelsea and there had been questions about his capacity to make an impact in the biggest games but this season Giroud has scored against both Manchester clubs and Liverpool. He feels ready to make his presence felt against the league leaders. “Let’s not forget this guy weighs 92kg,” Wenger said. “When he walks on your feet, you feel it.”