Bould leaps to the defence of under-fire striker

Wednesday, September 19, 2012
7:27 AM

Arsenal assistant manager Steve Bould has come to the defence of under-fire striker Olivier Giroud.

The Frenchman has yet to break his duck for the north Londoners but this did not deter the assistant manager, who has liked what he has seen so far.

“Olivier did a really good team job for us tonight. He works really, really hard for the team - at set-pieces he is fabulous,” said the Arsenal assistant manager.

“He had one chance at the near post that was difficult. Olivier is a really hard-working boy and I am sure the goals will come.”

The Gunners assistant has had a positive impact on the side after Arsenal only conceded one goal in the opening four Premier League games but Bould was unwilling to take the plaudits.

“Any coach will tell you it is about having good players and we’ve got some good players who want to work, so far, so good,” he said.

“Everybody’s spoken about myself, but Neil Banfield gets missed and he does a good job, too.

“Everybody’s working hard, the players and the coaches, and I think that’s why we are doing okay at the minute.”