Arsenal star out of line to criticize PSG star

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud deserved to be sent off

I’m really not sure why Arsenal frontman Olivier Giroud thinks he’s entitled to criticize PSG midfielder Marco Verratti. The French striker thoroughly deserved to be sent off during yesterday’s Champions League opener for both clubs.

The French forward claimed to be “really surprised” at Verratti’s behavior during the match. According to Giroud, Verratti was responsible for escalating the late-game encounter between two that resulted in each player being sent off.

No matter what happened during that final incident, Giroud can have no qualms with the way Verratti conducted himself on the pitch. The French midfielder played an energetic, tough match from the start. Giroud, on the other hand, came on as a second half substitute and still managed to commit more fouls than any other player on the pitch.

When you commit that many fouls in such a short period of time, you know you’re going to find yourself in hot water. Giroud isn’t some starlet who doesn’t understand that reality. He’s a veteran centre forward that should absolutely know better.

Arsenal fans have every right to be irritated with his behavior. It’s bad enough that he’s relatively limited as the club’s primary striker, now he’s compounding his lack of ability with a weak mental game as well. That poor combination could be enough to convince manager Arsene Wenger not to rely on him as well.

The worst reality of the situation is that Giroud has put his club at a disadvantage moving forward in the competition. While he isn’t a perfect striker, he is the best out-and-out forward that Wenger has at his disposal on a regular basis. Now he won’t be available for a significant portion of the Group Stage.

It likely won’t stop Arsenal from advancing through to the Knockout Stage, but it’s another black mark against a player who is already on thin ice with his club’s fan base. Could this Verratti incident be the straw that breaks the camel’s back on his Gunner career? Probably not, but it isn’t going to endear himself any more to the Arsenal faithful.