Giroud can prove to be a bargain buy

AS CHELSEA saviours go, a signing from the Arsenal substitutes’ bench is up there with the most unlikely but Olivier Giroud is quickly taking on cult-hero status at Stamford Bridge.

Giroud maintained his one-man attempt to keep Chelsea’s season alive by scoring his fourth goal in five games to secure a 1-0 victory over Liverpool that keeps the club’s hopes of Champions League qualification alive.

Any chance of finishing in the top four would have been gone three weeks ago had Giroud not stepped off the bench to score twice and inspire a stunning comeback against Southampton.

It was also the Frenchman’s goal against Southampton at Wembley that put Chelsea on course to reach the final of the FA Cup and ensure they can still finish the season with a trophy.

Since February 1, Chelsea’s £18million (R305-million) January signing has scored two more goals than Manchester United’s Alexis Sanchez, who was head coach Antonio Conte’s primary target, and Alvaro Morata, for whom the Blues paid a clubrecord £57-million (R968-million) last summer.

Juventus are pursuing Morata and there has been a general apathy among Chelsea fans over the possibility of the Spaniard leaving if he expresses a desire to go. But Giroud has quickly captured the hearts of the faithful and said: “I received a really warm welcome at the club from when I first arrived and I felt like I was at home since I came here, like I’ve been here a few years, which was very important.

“I think when you give everything on the pitch people see that and even more when you have the opportunity to be efficient and to bring a plus to the team. I think it’s a nice reaction [from the fans].”

Other than the supporters, 31-yearold Giroud has also been embraced by his new teammates.

Some of that camaraderie has been lacking this season and it will have been appreciated in the corridors of power that Giroud is showing himself to be a team man.

But more importantly for a striker who was often written off at Arsenal as not being good enough for the big occasion, he is proving he can produce when the pressure is on.

Thanks to Giroud’s goal, Chelsea are now just three points behind Liverpool with a game in hand, but a worse goal difference, and two back from fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

Giroud has experience of making successful late runs into the top four with Arsenal and hopes that he can prove to be a good omen for Chelsea. Giroud scored a hat-trick on the final day of the 2015-16 season that, coupled with Tottenham’s 5-1 defeat to Newcastle, meant Arsenal finished ahead of Mauricio Pochettino’s team. Given that qualification to the Champions League, rather than the Europa League, is worth between £50-£70million (R849-million-R1.1billion to Chelsea, then his fee will have been a bargain if Giroud can repeat the trick.