Olivier Giroud struck twice for Arsenal at the weekend.
Jamie Redknapp has told The Mail he believes Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud is haunted by past greats and puts himself under too much pressure.
Giroud has never scored 20 goals in a Premier League season for Arsenal, but did net a brace off the bench at the weekend against Sunderland.
France’s Olivier Giroud
His double helped turn the game in Arsenal’s favour with the score 1-1 when he came on, with the Gunners going on to win 4-1.
Redknapp said: “The Frenchman has struggled to live up to the likes of Ian Wright, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. It’s as if he is haunted by the ghosts of Arsenal past.
“He needs to forget the comparisons and focus on the positives. Giroud is such a presence in the box and gives Arsene Wenger a perfect Plan B.”
Part of the problem for Giroud is that he wants to be Arsenal’s ‘Plan A’, rather than their back-up, but for now it is working just fine like this for the Gunners.
Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud celebrates after the match
Alexis Sanchez is leading the line effectively, and is currently the team’s top scorer with eight goals in all competitions,
When Arsenal signed Giroud, he was tasked with directly replacing Robin van Persie, and while he has never been able to win the Golden Boot like his predecessor, the Frenchman has been a key contributor for the club in recent seasons.
He now has 59 Premier League goals for the club since signing in 2012.
Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring their second goal with Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny
Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring their second goal with Francis Coquelin
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