80 headed duels won: Wenger praises Arsenal’s attacking “counterbalance”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised the physical qualities of striker Olivier Giroud, after the French forward’s headed goal gave the Gunners a 1-0 win at Newcastle on Sunday. Prior to his goal at St James’ Park Giroud had gone five games without a goal, but Wenger used his post match interview to praise his all round play. The Arsenal boss pointed to the importance of Giroud as an alternative to his plethora of diminutive playmakers, saying that he is a counterbalance to the rest of the side.

“That is what you need in a team,” Wenger told the Evening Standard.

“He has these qualities, that of course is very important.

“We are small and technical. So to have a player up front to counterbalance that is important.”

Giroud netted the winner in the 65th minute, but Wenger admitted that his team surrendered the initiative by sitting deep and allowing Newcastle to attack.

“We were quite in control”, he said.

“After that we subconsciously only wanted to defend.

“There is something in the team that is special on that front, on the mental front.

“We have many times been questioned, but we have shown that at West Ham, where we were 1-0 down, we have shown that again today, where we were a bit backs-to-the-wall in the last 15 minutes.

“There’s a great solidarity and a great spirit in the side.”