Don't know if you've seen this stat yet, apologies if you have... Drogba 1st season: 41 apps 16 goals 5 assists Giroud 1st season: 40 apps 15 goals 10 assists Found that quite shocking how similarly they have performed and considering some of the stick Giroud gets his return isn't that bad... Can you see him hitting the heights Drogba did once he gets used to the Prem in the coming seasons? Of course it could mean nothing... Nani had similar stats to Ronaldo in their respective first couple of seasons, but one player really kicked on and Nani... well... just didn't
Interesting stats. Also, if you look at Giroud's history, he always kicks on in his second season: At Tours: (games/goals) Season 1: 27/14 Season 2: 42/24 At Montpellier: Season 1: 43/14 Season 2: 43/25 At Arsenal: Season 1: 40/15 Very similar pattern. Regardless, we need another striker. I would love us to bring in Jovetic, or someone even better. As for Nani, I think Fergie has unfairly dropped him on a lot of occasions. He could have given him more of a chance, but then I'm not an expert on United. I don't care though because I think Nani is a petulant, whinging twat anyway!
In my completely un-biased opinion I think Drogba had alot more to his game than Giroud. Drogba was not just about goals, but was a battering ram for players such as Lampard to feed off. Not only that, but for long periods Chelsea were shutting teams out and grinding wins, so nicking a single goal was important - wheras Arsenal look to play more open football so Girouds oppertunities for more goals are greater (though you could argue service standards are lower). I can see Giroud getting 25 in all comps next year, but cannot see him being the Talisman/men he is being compared to in RVP and Drogba (RVP - Giroud has mentioned the stats himself for RVP's first year)
Those second season stats are quite interesting, not convinced he will kick on next season for 25ish goals but the evidence so far suggests he will! Nani is such a hot and cold player, either brilliant or ****e and Fergie prefers the consistent approach e.g. Valencia. Although the only thing he has been consistent with this season is being ****! Berbatov was the same really, moments of brilliance mixed with lackadaisical averageness and as a result was phased out and probably wasn't played as much as he deserved to.
Even when he was at Marseille, you knew Drogba had something special. He took a year to fully adjust in the PL, but he had everything needed to be top player. Giroud is decent, but for me he is not going to be a world class centre-forward. But, he can be a very good squad player for us.
As has been mentioned Drogba had more to his game, free kick specialist and could play in a variety of formations, played in 4-3-3, 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 and equally as effective (not many can say the same). More importantly they were different personalities. Drogba was a bit like Shearer and Henry in the sense that confidence was never an issue, with Giroud it is and I'm a fan of Giroud too.
DL - I forgot about his Free Kicks! His one for the CC final was typical of him. Also he bullied defenders with his pace and strength, which at the moment I don't see Giroud doing. Though I appreciate this debate was more stat based.
He perfected the free kick in the end. He had one against Arsenal in 09/10 when their keeper was rooted to the spot and hit the bar. Not even Zola was as good from set pieces IMO
This is a prime example of how misleading stats can be. Giroud is a good Premiership player, that's it. He doesn't do anything outstanding but maximises his talents. Drogba is a complete beast. He used to bully defenses, he produced numerous moments of brilliance. On his day he was totally unplayable. He did it on the highest level, both domestically and in Europe. He was instrumental in winning Chelsea the Champions league with many match winning performances. Giroud has a long way to go before he can be spoken in the same breath as Drogba. A more apt comparison would be Bendtner v Giroud. They are about the same in terms of talent and quality.
Giroud I believe has only scored 1 goal in our last 9 games, that's not good enough...Stats can always make things look better, but Giroud has lacked consistency, only to pop out in 1 game, and grab 2 goals or a hatrick, which then inflates his goal ratio to make it look good on paper when in reality, it isn't that impressive.
I just cant see Giroud making it with us. I really do hope he proves me wrong but he is too slow and poor at getting in the right position. His style of play does not suit what is required at the moment imo. We could really do with a beast like Drogba who will be in the box getting on the end of anything that is thrown in there. Giroud, for all his qualities, is normally running out of the box to try to get in a position where the ball can be passed to him as he doesn't have the pace to beat defenders. Nearly all of his goals have come from near perfect passes and a couple from a moment of brilliance (or could it be lucky touch/bounce). Id even pefer Peter Crouch to Giroud <head down waiting for the flack>
Giroud has the perfect attitude for a footballer, he's a trier and prepared to put in the miles when we don't have posession, but comparisons with Drogba are out of line in my opinion. Drogba was an A grade signing who turned out to be an A+ player (despite his petulance), Giroud is a B+ grade signing who may improve to be a A- player, what Arsenal need is a ready made A+ striker to replace the one we sold to Man Utd....
As long as he does not do a Chamakh, having a player like Giroud as a squad player would be amazing. He would bring something different and can be a plan B. If we can use his properly, Giroud can be a great asset to the club.
Not even as a squad player? Some Arsenal fans seem to have ridiculous expectations of the players we should buy. We're not Man City who can have 3 (previously 4) top strikers in the squad.
He could as a squad player, I don't see him making it as a first choice striker though. I should have explained better.
Drogba is vastly superior to Giroud in terms of technique. I like Giroud but he has a LONG LONG way to go to match Drogba. (Adebayor is a fairer comparison.) I don't see it happening either. It's highly likely Wenger will bring in another forward this Summer.
I agree that Drogba in his prime is vastly superior but I'd rather have Giroud over Apaybywhore anyday
Giroud works very hard. It's something that's obvious from going to the games - his off-the-ball work is excellent. His touch can, at times, be sublime, and he has the strength to hold off defenders. He will have adapted to the league this season and should come back stronger next. He has the physical attributes, but, after having RvP, fans have gotten used to having a player with incredible positional awareness, which Giroud currently lacks a little.
Drogba was a great big game player, but I don't think over the course of a season his contribution to his team was as good as the likes of Henry or Van Nistlerooy. In his 8 years with Chelsea he only really had a couple of prolific seasons. You can't argue with his record in cup finals and other big games though
