Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud seems to be having some anger problems right now. Having lost to Manchester United and then France going down to Ukraine in the World Cup playoffs, the French striker is understandably very upset.
Giroud told French newspaper L’Equipe last week how frustrated he was after facing Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic.
“I will not hide behind fatigue. I play a lot, it’s true, but I’m not complaining. Against Manchester United, it’s true, I lacked clarity… I took a lot of shots, elbows in the face. I thought it was unfair. It pissed me off.”
Playing as a lone striker can be very frustrating at times as clearly was the case against United. The good thing is that Giroud did not lose his cool on the field and get sent off. He seems to have bottled it up very well on the field but now he is letting out his frustrations.
Now following France’s 2-0 defeat to Ukraine on Friday, Giroud was upset even more. He told L’Equipe: “It is true that the number five quite annoyed me the whole game… I have a lot of rage in me that I hope will turn into positive energy… For my part, yes, I am offended. I want to redeem myself.”
Giroud has the opportunity to make up for all of this when France take on Ukraine in the second leg. The striker is ready for this one.
“We are ready to die on the field to get there,” he told reporters.
“We want to show the French people and to ourselves that we are proud to represent France. We want to make proud all the people who love us and support us.
“I am offended [with the first-leg display]. I want to redeem myself. Like all my team-mates, I guess.
“They will give us exactly the same treatment on Tuesday. We won’t be surprised. They are going to hit us hard.
“We want to do better, to make history. It is a matter of pride. We’ll do it, I firmly believe. Today, I still can’t grasp the idea of France not going to Brazil.
“We must find the right balance, to continue to play our game. This is not easy because there will be a lot of tension, a lot of stress. This is the game of the year.”