Giroud still bemused by Henry criticism
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud wants to meet with Thierry Henry following the criticism directed at him last season.
Following Arsenal’s goalless Premier League draw with Chelsea in April, Henry said that Giroud was not the kind of striker that could win the club the Premier League title.
Giroud responded at the time by labelling Henry as “dull,” and is not ready to let it lie.
“To be honest, when you are a footballer you don’t have to listen to people commenting about your performance,” Giroud, who scored 19 times last season despite missing three months with a broken ankle, told the Daily Mail.
“The main thing is not to have any doubt when you miss a chance or miss a game. It can happen sometimes. The best thing is to forget about the comments straight away and to keep the head up and not let it affect your qualities.
“I know Thierry and I knew what he wanted to mean. If I see him we will have a conversation between two men. I’m not angry against him but it’s true that I didn’t understand at first. I think he reacted about his words and explained them more.
“But it’s alright. I’m not going to be upset about that. I’m sleeping well and as long as my family is OK that’s the main thing. It doesn’t affect me too much.”
Following Lukas Podolski’s departure, the No. 9 shirt is available at Emirates Stadium, but Giroud, who has worn No. 12 since his arrival from Montpellier in 2012, will not be swapping.
“I don’t want to change the number,” Giroud said at the launch of Arsenal’s new away kit. “I’m not superstitious. I have the No. 9 with the national team but it was available. I don’t want to change because people have bought my shirt with the No. 12. I know No. 9 is for the attack leader but I will not be a better player if I wear a different number.
“I don’t have a precise target but I want to score more goals than last year. It would be nice to score more than 20 and at least 17 in the Premier League.”
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