Wenger officially praises this world class striker, French player in top form

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has heaped praise on in-form forward Olivier Giroud after the Frenchman scored his 50th Premier League goal in the Gunners capitulation of Aston Villa on Sunday.

Speaking to the press after his side’s 2-0 victory, Wenger said, “I believe he is at the top of his game. He is questioned sometimes but finally the numbers get people to realise he is a good player.” France international Giroud has courted much criticism for not being a world class forward since moving to the Emirates from Ligue 1 side Montpellier. Despite this however, Giroud became only the 7th Arsenal player to reach 50 Premier League goals.

Wenger also added, “Olivier has improved technically. His link play is better and when you have the option to go for long balls he is always an interesting option. He’s not got electric pace, he is more a player who likes to play with his back to goal. He is not spectacular individually but he is a very efficient player for the team. Mentally he is very strong.”

Arsenal got their season back on track after racking up three wins in just seven days. Back-to-back wins in the Premier League now sees the Gunners on top of the pile while a thrashing of Olympiakos saw them progress to the Champions League Round-of-16. Olivier Giroud played a massive part in these wins as he scored one each in their wins over Villa and Sunderland while he scored all three in their demolition of Olympiakos.

The Gunners now have a very good chance of getting to Christmas as the number one team in the land and with the kind of form they are in, this does seem very likely.