ARSENE WENGER has declared “we must kneel before” Olivier Giroud after the striker equalled France’s all-time scoring record.
But Graeme Souness has branded the ex-Arsenal and Chelsea striker as “lucky” to have scored as many international goals as he has done.
Giroud, 36, netted his 51st France goal in the 4-1 win over Australia on Tuesday.
It saw him equal Thierry Henry’s record as all-time top goalscorer for Les Bleus.
He then failed to find the back of the net in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Denmark, but with the current World Cup holders looking strong in Qatar, Giroud seems likely to break the record.
And Wenger, Giroud’s manager at Arsenal, declared to French TV channel TF1: “We must kneel before the career that he has had. Absolutely nothing was given to him.”
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Giroud has often split opinion in his career, and Souness’ opinion of the striker couldn’t be further from Wenger’s view.
The pundit believes Giroud’s success with the national team came as a result of Karim Benzema’s France exile.
Real Madrid striker Benzema didn’t play for the national team between 2015 and 2021 after a fall out with French FA chiefs.
And Souness said on ITV ahead of the Denmark game: “I’m not his biggest fan. Seven games in the last World Cup in the team that wins it and he never had a shot on target.
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“When you talk about mentioning him in the same breath as Thierry Henry – sorry!
“I would say his record is there for one reason: Benzema being out for such a long time because of all the controversy he’s involved with.
“Benzema, the current Ballon d’Or holder, will be missed in this French team this competition. Benzema is completely on another level.”
Giroud has netted 51 goals in 115 appearances for France, whereas Benzema has 37 strikes in 97 caps and Henry bagged 51 times in 123 games.
But, after being challenged by Ian Wright, Souness stuck to his guns and blasted Giroud’s record as an “anomaly”.
He continued: “The goalscoring records are marked up because of the amount of games the teams play in these daft competitions. I just think it’s an anomaly.
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“At 36, fair play to him he’s still playing in the French team. His best year in English football is 16 goals for Arsenal which is a marker for anyone.
“I don’t think he’d have a look in at this World Cup if Benzema had been available. He’s hard a large slice of luck in his career.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
