Giroud scores, still not enough for Arsenal

Arsenal put their poor Champions League performance behind them with a 2-0 win against Everton on Sunday. Goals from Olivier Giroud and Tomas Rosicky gave Arsenal an easy win.

It is quite difficult to know what to make of Olivier Giroud. Watching him against Monaco midweek and even at points in Sunday's game against Everton, when he contrived to miss a virtually free header from about six yards out not once but twice, it's difficult to disagree with Miguel Delaney's assessment earlier in the week that the Frenchman simply isn't good enough. Giroud is arguably an average player who will almost inevitably fluff any big chance that comes his way.

Yet Giroud is in fine scoring form, his neat volley against Everton representing his ninth goal in the last 13 games, while he also has some evidence to defend himself against the charge that he is a flat-track bully. This season, Giroud has scored against Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United while also notching a point-saving 90th-minute equaliser against Everton earlier in the season.

Sometimes his ineptitude is so stark and frankly comic that he simply cannot be considered a first-choice centre-forward for a team that tells you it is a title challenger, but he does play a slightly wider role as the "big No. 9" type who can provide space, layoffs and a focal point for the myriad other attacking options that Arsenal have.

Before his goal, Giroud seemed painfully aware of the pressure and criticism; he was visibly desperate to score, often shooting when he should have passed. Admittedly, the perennial strike against Arsenal is that they pass when they should shoot, so they might think they can't win, but as with most things, the key is to find a happy medium.

The truth about Giroud is that he probably should be an option but not the option. The problem is that the signing of Danny Welbeck was just enough of an improvement to make Arsenal better but not enough to make them as good as they need to be. Perhaps more damagingly, his arrival will probably prevent Arsene Wenger from making another big transfer splash on the (not entirely unreasonable) basis that they already have so many talented attackers that there is no need for another.

In many ways, Giroud represents exactly what Arsenal have become: often very good but rarely exceptional or quite good enough, a side that has finished third or fourth in its last nine campaigns. In some respects, the player and the club are perfect for each other.