The major difference in opinion Arsenal and Chelsea fans have about 90-goal striker as he nears European return

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15 players have featured for both Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League era.

That number is set to become 16 next season as Kepa Arrizabalaga nears his Emirates switch.

Of the 15, Chelsea fans will feel as though they have got the better end of the deal, seeing the likes of Cesc Fabregas make the move to Stamford Bridge and enjoy greater success than he did with the Gunners.

This is definitely the case with one player in particular, whose performances and trophy haul with the Blues outweighed what he achieved in North London, resulting in a big split in opinion about his ability between the two sets of fans.

Arsenal and Chelsea fans are divided on whether Olivier Giroud is overrated or underrated

The view from Arsenal fans

After firing French minnows Montpellier to their first ever Ligue 1 title, Olivier Giroud joined Arsenal in the summer of 2012 in a deal worth £12m.

During his six-year stay at the Gunners, Giroud scored 73 Premier League goals in 180 appearances, a rate of 0.41 goals per game.

Statistically, that is not the worst record in the world, especially when you factor in the three FA Cups the 38-year-old won at the club, too.

However, in crucial moments, the Frenchman fluffed his lines.

Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat to Monaco in their first leg Round of 16 Champions League tie in the 2014/15 season is but one example of this.

A more dramatic demonstration, however, is the 2015/16 season.

After Arsenal beat Manchester City 2-1 at the Emirates on 21^st December 2015, their 17^th game of the season, German playmaker Mesut Ozil had recorded 15 assists, and Olivier Giroud had scored 10 goals.

21 games later, at the end of the season, Ozil’s assist tally was only four higher at 19, while Giroud had scored another 6 goals to take his total to 16.

Ozil didn’t stop creating chances; it was Giroud who was missing what was being delivered to him. Indeed, this is reflected by the fact that Giroud went 15 top-flight games without a goal between the end of January 2016 and the beginning of May 2016.

This is something Arsenal fans are eager to point out in debates around whether the striker is overrated or underrated.

For instance, one Arsenal fan on Reddit explains in detail: ‘As an Arsenal fan, I have experienced so much pain because [Giroud] couldn’t finish. Ozil had 19 assists the year Leicester won the league, and Giroud didn’t score for 15 games straight.

‘Obviously, he has an insane goal catalogue. His trophy cabinet is absolutely ridiculous, also. I get all of that, but watching him play for my club was [an] absolute pain.’

Another was similarly critical, writing: ‘Can’t believe the legacy [Giroud] has been able to create since he left Arsenal. People overrate him so much by calling him ‘the most underrated player ever’.’

Ultimately, Arsenal fans recognise that on his day, Giroud could produce something spectacular. Yet this was too few and far between during his time at the Emirates, hence the belief that the Frenchman is overrated.

The view from Chelsea fans

After making the move to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2018, Giroud fired 17 goals in 75 appearances across four seasons.

That works out as a rate of 0.23 goals per game, a far worse record than he had at Arsenal.

Yet, Giroud won the Champions League, the Europa League, and the FA Cup during his time with the Blues.

Moreover, he was a vital part of those triumphs, scoring crucial goals along the way.

In the Europa League final of 2018/19, that included an excellent display against his former club, Giroud scoring once, winning a penalty which Eden Hazard converted from, and then setting up the Belgian as Chelsea romped to a 4-1 win.

These points have led Chelsea fans to claim that Giroud is underrated, despite his inferior goalscoring rate in the Premier League.

For instance, one Blues fan on X wrote earlier this year: ‘Giroud was so underrated for us. [He] scored some really important goals.’

In a more detailed post, another added: ‘Olivier Giroud deserves so much credit for his Chelsea career. Say what you will about him, but he’s the type of player every manager would love to have.

‘Giroud was incredible during Chelsea’s Europa League win and has scored some massive goals. So underrated.’

General consensus among Chelsea fans, then, is that Giroud is underrated.

As Olivier Giroud is set for Lille switch, most football fans echo the Chelsea viewpoint

At the age of 38, Giroud is on the cusp of returning to European football.

As reported by Fabrizio Romano, the French striker is set to leave Los Angeles FC in the MLS and return to his homeland with Lille.

Having won the US Open Cup during his time in America, the general consensus among the wider football community that Giroud is one of the most underrated strikers of all time has been reinforced.

Boasting a trophy cabinet that includes the World Cup and Serie A title alongside the aforementioned Champions League, Europa League, multiple FA Cups, and Ligue 1 trophy, fans and pundits alike make multiple arguments to support this point.

Writing on X in 2020, for example, Gary Lineker said: ‘I’ve always felt that Olivier Giroud is underrated. Excellent all-round centre-forward’s game. Hold up play, movement in the box, finishing is all top class.’

Speaking in 2023, another striking great in Ally McCoist echoed Linker’s viewpoint, praising Giroud as a “centre-forward that does his job” and “puts the ball in the back of the net”.

Interestingly, after playing with him at the Emirates for a number of years, former Gunners star Theo Walcott has also called Giroud underrated.

Despite protestations from Arsenal fans saying otherwise, Giroud will therefore always be considered as a striker who does not get the respect or value he deserves, and one of the most underrated ones at that.