A year ago it looked as though Olivier Giroud was never going to truly come good at the Emirates, but the Frenchman is now being tipped to fire Arsenal to the Premier League title this season.
In his fourth season with the club, Giroud has been in prolific form over the past few weeks, following up his hat-trick against Olympiakos in the Champions League with his ninth league goal of the year as Arsenal cruised to a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa that saw them climb temporarily to the top of the table.
In a side that has lost a number of key players through injury this season, especially in terms of strikers, Giroud's form has been a huge boost to a club that look capable of going all the way this year.
Despite reaching double figures in the league every season since his arrival from Montpellier in 2012, it was never felt Giroud had what it takes to score the goals a club needs to challenge for the Premier League.
Already well on his way to his best season in terms of goals during his time in England, Giroud's recent performances have silenced a lot of those doubters who claimed Arsenal's title hopes were dashed when Arsene Wenger failed to sign a striker in the summer.
The Gunners manager came under fierce criticism for only signing goalkeeper Petr Cech during the transfer window. Despite being linked with some of the best strikers in world football, from Karim Benzema to Gonzalo Higuain, Wenger kept faith in the players already at his disposal, in particular Giroud, who is now repaying his manager with goals.
While there is still a long way to go before any Arsenal fan will really be able to start getting excited about the potential of celebrating a title win, the Gunners would have taken their current position as the season heads into the festive period.
With 15 goals in all competitions, the 29-year-old has really stepped up to the plate this season, showing the sort of clinical form in front of goal that Arsenal strikers have lacked in recent years.
Priced at the time of writing at around 14/1 with bet365 and other sportsbooks to top the Premier League scoring charts this season, it's clear that other strikers have scored more goals than Giroud this year.
But if the Frenchman's goals end up winning Arsenal the league, Giroud won't mind finishing behind the likes of Jamie Vardy, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane in battle to finish as the league's top goalscorer.
While this Arsenal team likes to share goals around, it's clear that any team hoping to challenge for the title needs at least one player getting near the 20-goal mark. With Alexis Sanchez struggling with injuries this season, the Gunners desperately needed someone to step up and be that man who scores the majority of the team's goals.
At this point in the season, Giroud has been that man, and the in-form frontman is showing no signs of slowing down. Having played a massive role in Arsenal climbing to the top of the Premier League, the France international could now secure himself in folklore if he goes and scores the goals that end the club's 12-year wait for a league title.
