Olivier Giroud: Talent is more important than hard work to be a striker

Olivier Giroud believes that a player needs talent more than hard work to become a great striker and says that he idolised Manchester United legend Eric Cantona as a kid.

Giroud's season has been blighted by injuries which kept him out for more than three months. However, he has managed to score goals against Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton, and is ostensibly fulfilling his potential, which Arsene Wenger hoped he would when he bought him from Montpellier in 2012.

The Frenchman has scored seven goals for the Gunners in only eight starts thus far and is Arsenal's second highest scorer in the league behind Alexis Sanchez this season.

Giroud talked up Thierry Henry, Arsenal's poster boy and all time highest scorer in all competitions and insists that he would be happy if he achieved half of what his predecessor has done at Highbury and at the Emirates.

Giroud stressed on the need for talent above hard work, without which any effort would be futile in their quest to become a top striker.

"You can always improve yourself but you need to have talent. Talent is not sufficient on its own, though. I always repeat that because it's important for young players to know it," he told Arsenal's official website.

"You need to have something that all strikers have in them. You need to keep lucidity in front of goal and have cold blood, like we say in France, in your veins. You need to be a born striker with a killer instinct.

"I looked up to Andrey Shevchenko and Jean Pierre Papin [when I was younger]. Eric Cantona as well, but the one who scored so many goals was Titi Henry.

"He played for my team, Arsenal, so I was impressed by his performances. He has done really well in his career, especially at Arsenal. If I can do half of what he has done I will be happy," he added.