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I deleted WhatsApp from my phone because of numerous reasons but the hugest ones were my disagreement with the vulgarity of some users plus the criticism or insults hurled at Arsenal players by people (including group admins) who claim to be fans yet sound like haters (from India to Europe to Nigeria and across Africa) though many others were kind in their analysis. I quit six Arsenal Fan Groups without apology before they infected me with their nasty negativity. The Biggest Target of vile opinions was Olivier Giroud even though he netted at least 15 times in his first five seasons at Arsenal, 2016 being his individual best with 24 goals plus a 2nd place finish behind Premiership Kings Leicester City FC. I'm a Diehard Gooner from head to toe and have been a Giroud believer from Day One because I knew what he had done at Montpellier in 2012, something like the Leicester of France or maybe Leicester is the Montpellier of England. It took Giroud some games to score his first Arsenal goal but still reached the Centurion milestone faster than Robin van Persie who is the 13th Fastest basing on games played and only 56 games longer than Thierry Henry in 11th though the minutes played might be closer. He is the 5th Gunner under Arsene Wenger to notch 100 Goals after Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Van Persie and Theo Walcott. "GIROUD IS A GOOD MAN!" He may not be fast at dribbling like Lionel Messi nor flashy and lively like Henry but he adds something different to the beautiful game. Critics blame him for wasting many of Ozil's created chances but he still netted some. Others say he is very slow yet his majestic hold-up play allows other teammates to run into goal-scoring positions, Aaron Ramsey (a living Arsenal legend) can agree with that. Oli has never disappointed me: he broke the Premiership Record for the Most Headed Goals. In my mother tongue (Lugbara language) spoken in East and Central Africa, "oli" means air or wind; Giroud is definitely the King of the Air. His height favours him greatly and sometimes he backtracks to defend opponent corners plus setpieces. Oli looks menacing in size plus strength and there are no opponent players that made me feel intimidated because I knew the Frenchman could match them anyway. In 2014, he set up Rambo with a neat backheel for the third goal that clinched Arsenal's first trophy in nine years. Then he unleashed a cracker against Man City in the consequent Community Shield, moreover as a substitute; Arsenal won 3-0. In the 2015 FA Cup Final, Oli scored the fourth Arsenal goal just as I had wished, again as a substitute (Be very careful what you wish for, you might receive it). Two years later, he assisted Rambo again for the 2-1 FA Cup Final-winning goal against Chelsea; it was Oli's first touch as a substitute. In the Community Shield rematch against Premiership Champions Chelsea a few months later, he netted the winning ABBA penalty after a 1-1 comeback draw earned by a Kolasinac equaliser; Arsenal won 4-1. That was the last team trophy Oli won at Arsenal fulfilling a dream I had seen a few years behind where he scored a penalty and Arsenal won a trophy. Another dream was Man City handing Arsenal a trophy but that probably happened in the 2014 Community Shield. After Christmas in 2016, one of my much older cousins who is a staunch Manchester United fan (his friends used to call him Coach Ferguson, then Moyes, then Mourinho) told me that Henrikh Mkhitaryan had just scored the Greatest Goal of All-Time. When I viewed it in the Match Highlights he was watching, I was amazed but also noticed that Mkhi was offside. I swallowed the possible fact a bit but a few days later, New Year's Day to be exact, the BBC World Service top-of-the-hour Sportsworld intro started with a clip of how Giroud had just scored a wondergoal better than Mkhitaryan (glad he moved to Arsenal exactly 12 months later). Interested, I waited patiently for the highlight on the Supersport Blitz Channel and was totally blown away. Without any further hesitation, I downloaded the frightening goal and repeatedly watched it eight times but could not prevent myself from smiling through all those eight times - I just had to force myself to stop somewhere. The FIFA Puskas Award which Giroud won later in the year proved that this was truly the Best Goal in 2017. By the end of the same year (10th December), Oli equalled Man Utd's Ole Gunnar Solksjaer (17 goals) as the Most Lethal Substitute in Premiership History. Oli was not assured of starting games at Arsenal but took it in his stride and became a reliable supersub in the final 15 minutes. Three years earlier, the 1-1 home draw against Everton in the 2014 Premiership proved to me how golden his late game-reading skills are; he frantically hit the woodwork just before the final whistle in attempting what would have been a classic winner (Luis Suarez was unbelievably on fire for Liverpool around that time). Nevertheless Oli got a chance to redeem himself against Everton in the FA Cup a few months later; the Gunners won 4-1 after the score was a 1-1 deja vu at some point, Oli netted twice for good measure and the rest is history. He transferred to Chelsea for the end of the 2018 season where he won the FA Cup again (one more than Thierry Henry) and then the World Cup in Russia with Les Bleus of France (equal with Thierry Henry); Oli made about three assists in seven matches. I guess Giroud fans wished he would score (even just one) against Croatia during the Holy Grail of Football before being substituted but am still thankful that Didier Deschamps always gave him playtime. Football is not all about scoring too many goals; Belgium, Harry Kane and Cristiano could have won the World Cup in 2018 then, but it's about scoring "just one more" than your opponent for the day. The winning goal can come from anyone including the goalkeeper, roger that Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay) and Abubakr (Ivory Coast). I appreciate the many goals Thierry scored for Arsenal but I still like Robert Pires and Olivier Giroud more than him, the heart wants what it wants. I became a Gooner because of the 1998 FA Cup Final, so enjoying three extra FA Cups with Giroud is still a great memory even though he never won the Premiership, League Cup nor UEFA Champions League at Arsenal. A trophy is just an empty cup, enjoy the assists, goals, celebrations and records...
