Olivier Giroud praised for putting Monaco nightmare behind him

Olivier Giroud has been praised by Hector Bellerin and Kieran Gibbs for a quick turnaround in form after his Champions League debacle.

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Giroud was the butt for a a lot of fan’s criticism, and you’d have to say rightly so, for missing a host of chances in our defeat to AS Monaco.

But he’s responded in the right way by first getting a goal against Everton at the weekend and against last night against Queens Park Rangers.

“He has certainly responded in the way we wanted,” said Gibbs in London Evening Standard.

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“He is that kind of character who always wants to bounce back and do well for the team. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. Credit to him, because he is having a fantastic season.”

A statement which Hector Bellerin certainly agrees with, he said: “Olivier had a tough time against Monaco and I think he has shown character because he is still performing and scoring goals.

“He knows he has the support of the players and the fans, so we are really happy for him. He is a really important player for us. He is a player who takes it on the chin and works hard.”

Gibbs also praised Alexis Sanchez for continuing to plug away despite an eight game goal drought – which ended against QPR.

“Although he had not scored recently, he is a valuable asset to the team and one of our strongest players so we have to stay behind him all the time,” said Gibbs.

“Every player goes through a difficult patch but he is not the type to let it get to him. He has shown great determination in every game. We need that from him and that is why he is world class.”

With two wins since the defeat to Monaco, you’d have to say Arsenal are in as good a shape as they need to be if they want to go to Old Trafford next Monday and progress to the FA Cup semi-finals.

A game against Manchester United away is always going to be a difficult prospect and despite their relative poor form this season you wouldn’t put it past them to turn on the style against an old enemy.

We have to be at our best and hopefully the controversy of recent weeks – and the defeat against Monaco, particularly – will have taught us what we need to do to win against the Red Devils.