I've had this theory about Olivier Giroud for a while and I cba to pitch it and make it into an article, so I'm just gonna drop it here without monetising it....

Giroud, imo, is the striker equivalent of the 'ferryman' manager, like Moyes or Allardyce. No club really wants to depend on him long-term because they aspire to play a different type of game to the one you play with Giroud- but he does guarantee a solid return.

Arsenal and Chelsea have experimented with other, more mobile, options. Walcott, Welbeck, Sanchez and even Gervinho were tried upfront while he was at the club. Chelsea have tried Morata, Abraham, Higuian and even Batshuayi- but they all reluctantly come back to Giroud in the end

Both Arsenal and Chelsea never regarded Giroud as the striker to take them where they want to go but have gone back to him because he operates at a level of competence that stops them falling further back. He's your perfect "4th place" striker, essentially.

I think Giroud would make an excellent 'freelance footballer.' Every time one team benches him, he could find another club at a similar level happy to take him on a short term basis to "do a job."