In reality the fans need not have worried, because Giroud is currently in the middle of an extraordinary run in front of goal that makes him statistically the most 'efficient', to use Arsene Wenger's phrase, striker in Europe.
Wednesday's goal against PSG means Giroud has now scored nine goals from his last 11 shots on target, at a conversion rate of 81.8%, higher than any other player in Europe's top five leagues since May 8.
Looking at the numbers from all other players in Europe in the time period since Giroud started his run (a 2-2 draw at Manchester City last season), the Frenchman is comfortably the most efficient.
FC Koln's French striker Anthony Modeste comes in at No 2 with 71.4%, while the rejuvenated former Manchester United and Chelsea flop Radamel Falcao is third with 64.3%.
It may surprise Arsenal supporters to learn that the often profligate Edinson Cavani is as high as eighth, with 17 goals from 28 shots on target at a ratio of 60.7%.
And the most highly-rated strikers in Europe come nowhere near to Giroud's level of efficiency. Luis Suarez is the closest to the Arsenal forward with a shots on target to goals ratio of 51.6%, with Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic way down with 31% (13 goals from a huge 42 shots on target) and Neymar at 36.4% (8 goals from 22 shots on target).
In the timeframe we're looking at, Giroud also has the best goals per minutes ratio of anyone in Europe, with one every 58 minutes. Lionel Messi is next with a goal every 79, followed by Falcao and Cavani, who are one every 80 minutes.
Again, Giroud is far ahead of Europe's most highly-rated forwards in this metric, with Aguero's one goal per 99 minutes the closest to the Frenchman after Messi.
So, how has Giroud gone from a striker once considered so wasteful to one so deadly in front of goal? Part of the answer is that he is taking fewer shots than some of his rivals. Compared to the elite strikers in the chart above, Giroud averages only the fifth amount of shots per 90 minutes (1.91) since May 8 , with Messi leading the way with 2.45. In Europe's top five leagues as a whole Giroud is at 13th for this metric.
There was a moment in the second half against PSG yesterday when Giroud's hesitancy to shoot from outside the box was evident as he chose not to shoot from around 25 yards and elected to pass instead. It is also telling that his last 23 shots on target have all come from inside the area.
Giroud's excellent run also comes from a smaller sample size than the other strikers in Europe. Of the other 'big-name' forwards we've compared Giroud to here, the Frenchman has played fewer matches and has scored fewer goals than any of them in the last five months, apart from Neymar, who is on eight compared to Giroud's nine. Giroud also has comfortably the fewest shots on target out of those players (11), with Neymar on the next lowest with 22.
Wenger's task is simple then: get Giroud to start shooting more, because at the moment the guy can't miss.
Statistics via Opta
Sourced- Telegraph
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