Thanks Carl Jenkinson, In praise of Olivier Giroud

He lived our dream

So it looks like Carl Jenkinson is on his way to Crystal Palace on a permanent deal. I, for one, am sad to see him go. I didn't buy in to the negativity that a number of the supporters showed towards him when he came back in to the team this season. After a year out with a serious knee injury you might have thought we would be cutting some slack to a player who is genuinely one of our own. Instead he got dogs abuse to the point where Arsene Wenger took him out of the firing line completely and has actually been playing people out of position at right-back rather than put the Corporal back in the side. That nearly came back to haunt us at Preston with Ainsley Maitland-Niles far further out of his depth than Jenkinson ever was. Gabriel has done okay there but we are one centre-back injury away from having Maitland-Niles (or possibly Holding) being asked to play there instead. 

Carl Jenkinson is never going to be a top class full-back but he is a more than adequate squad man. He was also good enough to get an England cap not that long ago. To see him cast out because the "fans" got in his back makes me a little sick. It will be a real shame to see Carl Jenkinson having to play in a shirt that isn't Arsenal's from now on as all he ever wanted was to be a part of his club. He lived the dream we all wanted as supporters of Arsenal. I wish him all the best and commend him totally for always giving us everything he had. In these modern times where we see greed ruling football ambition it should be a breath of fresh air to see a young lad achieving his goals like Carl Jenkinson has. Unlike many of the players Jenkinson "got it" where Arsenal are concerned because, quite simply, he is one of us.

Outstanding form from Giroud

On the pitch we've got back to winning ways since I last wrote on Christmas Eve. The performances have ranged from pitiful to brilliant all in the space of the same ninety minutes. The game at Bournemouth was absolutely ridiculous and I really don't understand why it took 70 minutes for Arsenal to start playing at 3-0 down. As it turned out we might have won  the game had we gone at them for the couple of minutes after Giroud's equaliser. To follow it up at Preston with a first-half that was perhaps even worse just a few days later was inexplicable and inexcusable. As at Bournemouth it was mostly the combination play of Giroud and Lucas Perez that earned us the result late on. I don't see why Lucas isn't getting a decent run in the team. The lad has scored goals and created goals when given his opportunity and seems to know where and when to run whenever the ball is played to Giroud. By the same token his presence in the near vicinity makes Giroud's job of winning the ball that much easier as Lucas takes one of his markers away. It may be a good "plan B" but how about making it "plan A" a little bit more often?

Giroud has been in wonderful form since his return. His goals this season have been crucial on a number of occasions - his personal contributions have directly resulted in points won for Arsenal and maybe he's finally getting some well deserved credit. As he closes in on 100 goals for Arsenal a look at his record stands up to scrutiny. For a player who is not much loved, and seen as being just below the top level of centre-forward, his goals-to-games ratio is impressive. There is also a lot more to his game as he has the ability to bring others in to the match with impressive hold-up play. He has become a much stronger, better player in his years at Arsenal and I was really pleased he signed a contract extension last week (as I was about Koscielny, who will just about end his career at Arsenal now, and Coquelin who I believe should be Captain of Arsenal). Of course Giroud's goal at home to Crystal Palace has taken all the headlines, though I don't trust the BBC to make it goal of the month, never mind of the season. However, my favourite goals he has scored this season have all been headers. He thumped one in at Old Trafford by attacking the cross, but even better were his goals against West Brom and Bournemouth over Christmas. He used his physical abilities to hold off defenders for each of them as well as directing his header beyond the goalkeeper. The goal against West Brom was especially outstanding in that regard and shows just how much Giroud has come on as a player in recent times. Long may it continue as he will be crucial from here until the end of the season.