Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that Olivier Giroud’s mental strength has helped him to develop into the player that he is today.
The French international striker missed the first part of the season due to a fractured foot but has been a revelation for Arsenal in the second half of the campaign.
With nine Premier League goals since the turn of the year, Giroud’s form has been one of the key reasons why Arsenal have managed to climb up the Premier League table to third.
The Gunners boss feels Giroud’s physical ability is what makes him stand out amongst his other attackers but believes sometimes the Frenchman needs to keep a lid on his emotions while he is in a physical battle with his opponents.
“Giroud has fantastic body strength”, the Arsenal boss told the club’s official website.
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“Sometimes he becomes really aggressive when he is challenged, and you do not want him to be.
“Sometimes he needed to be challenged really physically to really become that animal he can be. But on the other hand, Giroud is a player who has improved tremendously technically.”
However, Wenger feels what has really helped Giroud to develop as a footballer is his mental strength as his journey from the third tier of French football to the national team was not an easy one to take.
“What I admire in Olivier is his mental strength as well”, Wenger explained.
“When a guy plays at 20 in the third division of French football and gets up again into the national team, there is some mental strength there, it is not easy.”
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