Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud explains the reason for his sublime form

Olivier Giroud loving life at Arsenal

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has talked himself up ahead of tonight’s crucial Champions League tie with Borussia Dortmund tonight.

The man who arrived at the Emirates for £12m from Montpellier at the start of last season has told Sky Sports that his confidence could not be higher after continuing to improve under Arsene Wenger.

“The big difference with last season is the confidence, and maybe I’ve improved myself in a technical way.

“The boss told me that, because we work a lot on it at the training ground. For me, it’s all about focus and confidence.”

Last season saw Giroud score 11 goals in 34 Premier League appearances, a tally he is already half way to matching this term. The France international puts his good form down to the confidence he gained from a good pre-season, a stark contrast to last season.

“I had a really good pre-season with the team. I did not have the same last year.

“I have felt so good since the beginning. I have scored a lot of goals and it was really good for my confidence. I touch some wood, like we say, and, hopefully, I will not get injured.

“But if you look at my stats, I used to play a lot of games every season with not a lot of injuries so, hopefully, it will be the same this year as well.”

Despite claiming his recent good form is down to a renewed confidence in himself, the former Montpellier hitman seems to have always believed in his own abilities; last season saw him boldly state that he had a better start to his Arsenal career than club legend Thierry Henry.

“I’ve scored 17 goals and had 11 assists – that is better than Henry and Drogba in their first seasons,” said Giroud. “This is the quality I have. I have got better with this team and this staff. It is another level. I want to continue to improve.”

True to his word, the Frenchman is on target to better his goal tally from last season and despite most believing Wenger needs to add a new striker to his ranks, any new signing will have a tough job pushing Giroud out of the side.

Olivier Giroud’s talents don’t end with goalscoring. The Arsenal frontman has created 17 chances for his teammates this season, only Mesut Özil has completed more at the club (2o).