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Arsenal frontman Olivier Giroud struggled to perform in France’s friendly game against Serbia on Monday. It was a night to forget in Bordeaux for Giroud as France salvaged a 2-1 win over the Serbs but not before the Frenchman was booed off the pitch by the home fans, reports Telegraph.
The Frenchman has insisted that he has the mental strength to bounce from his poor form for the national team. Giroud might have been looking forward to their international friendly but it turned out to be a torrid night for the Arsenal striker as he missed a string of chances and the home fans weren’t shy in letting him know about it. The 28-year-old was replaced by Karim Benzema at the hour mark and was booed off the pitch as he headed towards the subs bench in disappointment.
Giroud has struggled to rediscover his stunning form from the back end of last season - scoring just once (against Crystal Palace) in five games for the Gunners this term. But he is refusing to let his recent poor form hurt his confidence as he looks forward to Saturday's clash with Stoke at the Emirates.
"As a striker, what you get used to on a daily basis, it is to be applauded when you score goals,” Giroud was quoted by Mirror.
“When the opposite happens, it's difficult. Everybody gets criticized at one point. That's not the first and surely not the last time it happens.”
Didier Deschamps defends Olivier Giroud’s lack of efficiency
While the home fans let out their frustration at Giroud, France coach Didier Deschamps leaped to his defense.
"He also helped during the game," said Deschamps.
"He got unlucky on a few chances because the goalkeeper made a great save. He got three clear opportunities. One was not on target, a header close from the goal-frame. Obviously if he had been more efficient the score would have been much higher. In his role he made a lot of effort. I always leave a lot of freedom to the three offensive players so he also had to counterbalance.”
"Obviously he knows about it. He's the first to be sad about his lack of efficiency. But it happens sometimes. If it's not Olivier, it might be Karim [Benzema]. The performance of the entire team remains of a great level."
Giroud was partnered by Antoine Griezmann and Mathieu Valbuena on the two flanks as the Arsenal made an unexpected start for the Les Blues. However, it was Blaise Matuidi who turned out to be the star man on the night by scoring both the goals for France.
Have a look at his miss here:
