"Giroud is the best target man in the world"

Giroud recently scored his 100th Arsenal goal when he tucked away a penalty against BATE Borisov in the Europa League and he has become a fans' favourite at the Emirates since joining the club from Montpellier back in 2012.

Now, former 'La Paillade' team-mate Younes Belhanda has come out and claimed that the 31-year-old is the best target man in the world.

That is high praise indeed, but there is no doubt that the barrel-chested striker is a throwback to a bygone era of Premier League strikers.

Gone are the days where a strong, powerful striker would be the focal point of his team. With the main aim of his team-mates being to get bodies around him, anticipate his flick-ons and supply him with crosses.

Giroud and Belhanda won a shock Ligue 1 title during their time together with Montpellier and the striker clearly had a lasting impact on his team-mate. Speaking to 'RMC Sport', Belhanda explained: 'For me, Olivier is one of the best forwards in his role. He's someone who keeps the ball up really well, who knows how to make his number 10 or his wingers play because he has a target man game few strikers have.

'There isn't a striker in the world who's better than him as a target man. Especially with the France team, he scores, so you can't hold anything against him.

'At club level, he doesn't play that much, but when you have a player in the national team who scores and helps the team win, you can't say anything.'

It would appear that France boss Didier Deschamps agrees with Belhanda to some extent, with Giroud continuing to lead the line for France, despite being kept out of the Arsenal team by fellow countryman Alexandre Lacazette.

Do you agree with Balhanda? Let us know in the comments.