History tells us that France like hosting an international tournament, having won the Euros in 1984 and the World Cup in 1998.

So Didier Deschamps and his squad will have a lot of pressure on their shoulders as France host this year’s European Championships.

The squad are well fancied with plenty of top performers in the pool.

In the team, centre-forward Oliver Giroud will be tasked with grabbing the goals that should see Les Bleus progress to the latter rounds.

Now Arsenal man Giroud can be a much maligned figure, mainly due to his goal droughts that always seem to appear at the worst possible time for the Gunners.

But when you look past the droughts, you’ll see that Giroud is actually a superb striker.

The six foot four hitman works well as a team player with his hold up play and ability to interact with the exciting players that play off him. His runs into the channels or by coming deep, make space for the pacey forwards to run into.

If anything his selflessness could be seen as his big flaw but I think the Euros could be huge for Giroud.

At Arsenal it seems like Mesut Ozil is more geared to play with a pacey striker and has taken time to get used to Giroud’s style. While the two have played better this term I’m of the opinion that the Frenchman has adapted his game more than the the German midfielder.

The pressure at Arsenal is great, boss Arsene Wenger knows of Giroud’s flaws but has never really signed enough competition for his place. Injuries to Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott certainly haven’t helped either, meaning that Giroud would often have to play through the goal droughts and get stick from the fans.

But things should be different with France.

The French national team now seems to be all set-up to get the best out of Oliver Giroud. A 4-3-3 formation with Giroud in the centre up top.

Obviously he will still work hard to get everyone else involved and do his bit for the team but I think Deschamps will tell the squad that Giroud is the focal point to it all and it should be played through him.

I think the fact that Deschamps has decided to leave out Real Madrid frontman Karim Benzema, due to his off-field antics, will benefit Oliver. As he’s now seen as his country’s main attacker.

The supply to the centre-forward will be crucial and again France are well prepared in that department.

Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann and West Ham’s Dimitri Payet should be the players that play in and around Giroud. Between them they have created eighteen assists during the season.

Griezmann’s pace will cause defenders problems and Giroud will hope to benefit from any confusion. Payet’s dead-ball expertise, his crossing ability and eye for a through ball should be right up Giroud’s street.

Even the young back-ups Kingsley Coman and Anthony Martial will work to get the ball to Giroud in the penalty area.

Just look at Giroud’s goal against Germany last November. Paul Pogba pinged a diagonal ball to Martial on the left. The Man United teenager worked the ball into the box taking out three defenders in the process, got to the byeline and cut it back into a dangerous position in the six-yard box. Giroud was the man on hand to then sweep the ball into the back of the net. That kind of play will be dangerous to any opposition this summer.

You then remember that you have Pogba playing in the Les Bleus midfield. The dynamic Juve man makes a high number of key passes, in Serie A he made fourteen assists this term. So he could be crucial at the start of most good moves that France make in the Euros.

So you would imagine that Giroud will get all the ammunition needed to fire France all the way this summer.

Plus and probably most importantly, the man is coming into the competition just as his form is on the up. He’s bagged four goals in his last two appearances.

So for me, I think this summer really could be huge for France and I believe Oliver Giroud will be at the heart of any success that they have and could come away with the golden boot.

Oh but that shouldn’t stop Arsene Wenger from bringing in another top class striker!

Posted on May 20th, 2016 by scott
Filed under: Article, Euros