Arsenal in-form striker Olivier Giroud, has revealed that he was left frustrated by critics in his first season at the club, as he struggled to free himself from Robin van Persie’s ghost.
The Frenchman endured an indifferent start to his Gunners’ career, but eventually ended the 2012/2013 campaign with 17 goals and 10 assists. The former Montpellier man has continued with his fine goalscoring form this season and has six goals in ten games.
“At a point in time last year, certain things annoyed me,” he told France Football. “I wasn’t hurt, I wouldn’t go that far. But they p***** me off. You run yourself into the ground on the pitch, you do yourself in, and you get the impression that people didn’t see the game. At the end of the match, they just look at the score and don’t see the content.
“It’s perhaps also due to my game, I’ve always made those around me play. Perhaps I think too much about others, but that mustn’t change. I have to stay myself.
“When I arrived last year, subconsciously, I perhaps put myself under more pressure than I do today, perhaps too much because I’d ‘replaced’ Van Persie,” he said. “I tried to keep myself free of that, but of course I thought about it.
“At the start of last season, honestly, I wasn’t doing the right things. When it came to finishing, I was tense. You would have said I was as stiff as a stick. By winning my place over the course of the matches, I played a little less with the handbrake on.”
The 27-year-old, who also scored as Arsenal put Napoli to the sword on Tuesday in the Champions League, explained how he was able to overcome his initial challenges.
“When you arrive in this position, you have to have ambition, know what you’re getting yourself into,” Giroud said. “Now, you’re in the big boy’s playground. I wanted to be here, at a big club, but you have to accept that afterwards. “I say it again, I’m happy with my first season and I’m happy with my good start to this season. Frankly, I’m really enjoying myself right now.”
Speaking on Mesyt Ozil’s arrival from Real Madrid, he said: “What’s more, we’ve picked up a great No. 10 who’s going to chip in. They’re going to say it’s easier to score at Arsenal now that there’s Ozil. That if Giroud scores, it’s because there’s Ozil. But Giroud scored before Ozil arrived.”
Giroud also spoke about his career before he moved to England and how he worked his way through the lower rungs of French football and his future ambitions.
“I’ve had to root around in the s*** to get where I am. That’s a great source of strength. I’ve always had to fight. That’s why I’ve succeeded, because I’ve always been hungry. I’m more hungry than ever. I’m enjoying it, but the more I progress, there’s less which seems inaccessible to me,” he said, suggesting that even the Ballon d’Or may soon be within his reach, though not before he has fully established himself in his new home.
“It’s a dream. But the key to my success has always been to set myself reasonable targets. I’ve developed like that, stage-by-stage. Before I can think about the Ballon d’Or, before I get into the top ten players in the world, I first have to think about being among the top ten strikers in England.”
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