Olivier Giroud set to become a Gooner?

According to reports in the English media today, Arsenal are on the verge of sealing their second summer signing, with Olivier Giroud expected to sign for the club in the coming days. His manager at Montpelier, René Girard, also confirmed yesterday in an interview with a French radio station that Arsenal are very interested in the player and if a fee can be agreed with the club’s president, Giroud will be heading to red half of North London.

With the fee expected to be slightly lower than the rumoured £12.8 million release clause in the player’s contract, it is believed that Marouane Chamakh will also be going the other way as part of the deal, enabling Arsenal to remove the disappointing Moroccan striker from their wage bill. Should he sign for the Gunners, Giroud would provide an interesting new dimension to the Arsenal attack, with his size (standing at 6ft 3”), physical presence and renowned heading ability. Having worked his way up to the top tier of French football, following spells in the French lower leagues, Giroud not only knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level but also possesses great passion, hunger and desire to win. Although he amassed 21 goals in Ligue 1 last season, helping Montpelier to win the league title, it is believed that Wenger does not see Giroud as a direct replacement for Robin Van Persie. Although with his physical attributes the Frenchman could clearly play upfront on his own,
he could in fact be used by the club to help persuade Van Persie that Arsenal are an ambitious club pushing to win the silverware he and the fans so desperately crave. Therefore Giroud could essentially help to form one of the Premier League’s most exciting attacking line-ups, with fellow new signing Lukas Podolski expected to play on the left hand side of a front three. The Frenchman would also significantly bolster the squad, providing Wenger with the option of resting Van Persie at crucial points in the season, keeping him fresh and protecting him from potential burn out, something that could not be contemplated last year as Chamakh and Park proved to be inadequate alternatives.

Inevitably the rumours that Arsenal are close to signing another striker have led to increased speculation over the future of the Gunners’ captain. Although his father has recently indicated that his son could not sign for another Premier League side and would not fit in at either Barcelona or Real Madrid, while his mother advised him to stay with the Gunners, the speculation will not desist until the captain signs a new contract. During last week’s general meeting with supporters, Ivan Gazidis indicated that any news regarding the Dutchman’s future would not be made public until after the European Championships, which did not fill many Gunners’ fans with optimism. The simple fact is that if the club had any positive news to relay on the situation, they would have done so by now. The old saying of “no news is good news” does not bear any substance in this situation, as Arsenal fans know only too well from last summer’s transfer window debacle. The major difference between this year and last year is that Wenger now appears to have a clear strategy in place to deal with the potential departure of Van Persie, whereas last summer, following the departure of Fabregas and Nasri, the squad was left significantly depleted with Wenger desperately searching for new signings on transfer deadline day. As a result of this new approach the club is now in a very strong position. In the worst case scenario, if the captain leaves, there are capable replacements already at the club to pick up his mantle and if Van Persie does decide to stay, then Arsenal’s attacking options will certainly be a force to be reckoned with next season, one that will strike fear into every defence throughout the league.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob8xTYXmMko