Giroud, master of the assist

By Jon Shay

Olivier Giroud started the season so brightly that we started dreaming of a 20-goal season, perhaps even contention for the Golden Boot.

After all, following a a pre-season of eight goals with three goals in his first three appearances, and five in his first six, it looked like Giroud would again repeat his second-season tradition of scoring, scoring, scoring. Well, he's come down to Earth, if only a bit, but Giroud's slow-down might be more of a concern were it not for something else that doesn't quite show up in the stats: his all-around play.

Last season, I wrote frequently of how hard Giroud pressed and was pressured to be a one-for-one replacement for Van Persie, and that pressure, exacerbated by having scored so prolifically for Montpellier, was coercing him into taking ill-advised shots and making tricksy little passes rather than keeping it simple.

He may never be a scorer like Aguero or Van Persie or Suarez, but that may not be what the squad needs. Instead of one focal point, after all, the movement and passing that our attack is built upon might flow more freely in the absence of that one go-to scorer.

Now that there is a bit more of a democratic feel, we've had goals from 13 players, and Giroud is a huge part of that. With five assists, he shares the team lead with Mesut Ozil, known as one of the best playmakers in the world, and deliverer of 72 assists in the last five years, tops in Europe's five big leagues.

A lot has been written recently of Giroud's increased physicality; a search for "Giroud battering ram" will give you 23,000 results in the last week. As true as this may be, it tells only a part of the story.

For as hard as he battles in and around the box, and as impressive as his work-rate is, he still displays a deft touch, exemplified by that exquisite interchange against Norwich. The contrast between those two skill-sets - tangling with the Skrtels and Shawcrosses of the world versus delivering a soft flick or headed ball to a teammate - is hard to fully describe.

Try muscling your way through a crowd of people, some of whom elbow you and yank on you maliciously, while setting a glass of water on a table. Giroud's headed assist to Ramsey against Dortmund this week was along those lines - fending off Grosskreutz while nodding down into Ramsey's path. Strangely, though, it was one of his few touches in Dortmund's box, an oddity for such a poacher whose goals almost always come from in or near the six-yard box.

And that leads into the next point. Giroud's willingness to drop deeper to contribute to build-up, has been vital. Playing frequently with his back to the goal, he's like the nucleus of an atom, with Ramsey and Wilshere and Rosicky and Ozil flitting about him, pinging balls around in a balletic performance.

In Dortmund, Giroud only had a handful of touches in or around the opposition box, indicating that he's spending a good amount of time contributing to the build-up and involving others around him. Again, with our emphasis on possession, passing and movement, this kind of contribution is key.

Arsène Wenger spoke glowingly of Giroud, saying this of the man:

I have to say that I agree, almost whole-heartedly, with that assessment, with one hedge. I don't know if he is or will be the "striker" fans look for, at least not in the sense of scoring goals à la Van Persie or Henry or Wright. Maybe he will. If he doesn't, I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes one of the club's leading assist men. With 14 assists in a little over 60 appearances, he's off to a fine start indeed.

Of course, he's the only striker we can really rely on, so he'll have plenty of time on the pitch to add to that tally. Silver lining? Sure. But that's fitting for the number of gilt-edged chances he creates.