Arsene Wenger managed hundreds of players during his tenure at Arsenal, including several world-class superstars.
The likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp dominated the earlier years of his 22-year reign, whilst players such as Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla won silverware in his final few seasons.
There were many stars who perhaps did not get the recognition they deserved, and according to Wenger himself, Olivier Giroud was one of them.
The striker is currently enjoying a later prime in his career, having succeeded massively since leaving Arsenal six months before Wenger departed.
Arsene Wenger praises Oliver Giroud
Speaking to GOAL on YouTube, Wenger was asked to describe Olivier Giroud in a game of word association, and he gave a short answer.
“You have to take your hat off to Giroud, you know,” he stated.
Wenger signed Giroud from Montpellier in 2012 as a replacement for Robin van Persie, who joined Manchester United in controversial circumstances.
The Frenchman was often criticised during his earlier years at Arsenal, as comparisons with Van Persie did not serve him well, despite producing a fairly strong goal record.
Giroud scored 105 goals, and provided 41 assists in 253 games, whilst serving as an old-fashioned target man to link up with the likes of Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott.
Olivier Giroud’s underrated career
Despite some bad blood with sections of the Arsenal fanbase as a result of his time with Chelsea, Wenger is right that you have to tip your hat off to Giroud.
He joined after helping fire Montpellier to an unexpected Ligue 1 title, and he won three FA Cups during his time at the Emirates.
He would go on to win the World Cup, Champions League and Europa League within the next few seasons, before joining AC Milan, where he is still thriving with the Serie A giants at the age of 37, winning the title in 2022.
Arsenal arguably sold Giroud too early, but the arrivals of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in back to back windows meant that there was little room for the target man upfront and this unfortunate scenario meant that a sale to Chelsea was the only option for Arsenal in what was a chaotic final transfer window for Wenger.
Although he was not a favourable style of centre-forward during his spell at Arsenal, he may be looked back upon as someone who was underrated, and would perhaps even suit Mikel Arteta’s current team as a creative target man with a strong goal record.
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