Olivier Giroud says that he is “satisfied” with the start that he has made at Chelsea but accepts that he will need to improve his statistics if he is to be considered a success at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman moved to the Blues from Arsenal in January but has found the net only once for his new team – a tally that he is acutely aware needs improving.
Giroud, though, is not panicking about his lack of production just yet.
“I’m happy with how I’ve adapted, the welcome I got and my relationship with my team-mates,” he told L’Equipe. “But I should have had more goals. I’m very attached to statistics and I remain stuck at one goal and three assists in five starts. It’s clear that’s not enough. But the content of my game is very encouraging.”
The 31-year-old forward is quite happy to be self-critical even if he knows he is perhaps asking for too much, too soon.
“You have to be demanding of yourself,” he explained. “If I signed for Chelsea, it was to experience a new challenge. I knew there was going to be a lull. When you sign like that in January, it’s never easy because you have to acclimatise yourself to the team.
“But I wanted to be ready straight away, even though I was coming back from six weeks of injury. It was a little paradoxical.
“The coach started me in the second game and made me comfortable. It went very well. It’s true I played some poor matches, but the content of my game has been very encouraging.”
Giroud will hope to regain some momentum with France as they tackle Colombia and Russia in friendlies over the next few days.