It's too soon to reach a consensus on Olivier Giroud, but TEAMtalk's Jon Holmes feels Arsenal's approach is helping to buy the Frenchman time.

Olivier Giroud said he'd "keep his celebration small" if he scored for Arsenal against his old club Montpellier in Tuesday night's Champions League Group B opener. As it transpired, the home fans at the Stade de la Mosson were spared the sight of their returning hero notching a goal against them.

However, the Gunners striker played a significant role in his new club's victory, claiming an assist for Lukas Podolski's equaliser and winning seven aerial duels over the course of his 76 minutes on the pitch.

Unsurprisingly, that contribution appeared to pass by that most myopic of Arsenal watchers, Piers Morgan. Having failed to find the net in a little under five hours of football since his £12million summer switch, Giroud was handed this report card by Morgan, even before the final whistle: "Not convinced by Giroud. At all. Got 'The new Chamakh' written all over him."

For the likes of Morgan, the 'spectre' of Chamakh (and it's not as if he has even departed the Emirates yet) is already stalking Giroud.

The Moroccan started well enough after his free-transfer move from Bordeaux in July 2010, weighing in with 11 goals before the end of November as the Gunners went second in the Premier League table after 15 games.

However, by February of the following year, Chamakh was claiming he was burned out - although it wasn't just the rough and tumble of the Premier League in comparison to Ligue 1 that was to blame. His off-the-field lifestyle appeared to be a major factor as well and from that moment, Arsene Wenger lost all faith in him.

And now another tall, good-looking centre-forward with excellent aerial ability and a French title winner's medal has moved to Arsenal... but marking Giroud down already on the back of Chamakh's disappointing fade-out seems rather harsh.

The 2012/13 campagn is only Giroud's third season of top-flight European football, and the initial step-up from France to England is often tough. Loyal Arsenal fans need no reminding of how Robert Pires had to wait a year to fully get to grips with the game on this side of the Channel, something they are witnessing again now as Gervinho's form has improved considerably. It's not necessarily exclusive to the Gunners either; Florent Malouda flopped in his first campaign at Chelsea after leaving Lyon, but was one of their stand-out players the season after.

Of course, the departure of Robin van Persie has added to the expectations surrounding Giroud, who only turns 26 later this month. Throw in some early misses against Sunderland, Stoke and Liverpool, and some extra weight is put on those shoulders. Then the traditional fixture for new Arsenal strikers to get their first goals for the club - a clash with Southampton - came and went, with Giroud only playing 15 minutes at the end, when the team was in cruise control. His passing statistics have been poor too - a completion ratio of less than 50% in the Premier League, startling for someone in a Gunners jersey.

Yet where he has impressed is the physical side of the game. Giroud's dominance in the air on his old hunting ground on Tuesday suggested he is finding his feet in Wenger's system, performing a role that frees up space for the likes of Podolski and Santi Cazorla to shine. He may have netted 21 goals in total for Montpellier last season, but it's his strength rather than his shooting that is more important to Arsenal at this moment in time.

Looking at the all-round contributions since August of Everton's Marouane Fellaini and - dare I say it - Peter Crouch at Stoke seems a fairer way to assess Giroud than comparing him to the confidence-free Chamakh. Giroud has already received a morale-sapping reception from some France fans this season, when a section of the Paris crowd booed him off after an hour of their World Cup qualifying win over Belarus last week. What he needs now from Arsenal supporters is patience.

They nicknamed Giroud 'le buteur de charme' in France, a nod to his talismanic goal-scoring presence up front, as well as the fact he's blessed with good looks. At Arsenal, he's displaying a different kind of charm offensive - it's not always pretty, but it can be effective, and Podolski in particular seems to appreciate it.

You can follow Jon on Twitter at @jonboy79.