Olivier Giroud has confirmed that both Marseille and Lyon were interested in signing him this summer but that he never seriously considered a return to Ligue 1.
After the France international scored the winning goal against Leicester on the opening day of the season, Arsene Wenger revealed that he’d given the striker the option of leaving the Emirates earlier in the summer. That the former Montpellier player decided to stay and fight for his place was celebrated by the boss.
In an interview with Telefoot, translated by Get France Football News, Giroud has opened up on the situation.
“I did not refuse Marseille,” he said. “I simply said to the boss when I was on the phone with him… He wanted to know if I was interested or not in the Marseille project.
“I have always said that returning to France was not an option for me, even less so in the short-term future.
So it was not something against Marseille, because the project is very ambitious and very interesting…It was not specifically about Marseille, because I also had Lyon.
“I am very flattered to have been chased by two great French clubs.”
Right now, with Alexis being tipped to leave the club, Theo unfancied and Danny’s finishing driving everyone up the wall, it looks as though our HFB could well get more game time than expected.
In a separate interview with Arsenal Player, Giroud has also had his say on Sunday’s debacle against Liverpool.
“You know that in a season you will have to deal with these difficult moments, you can’t always be invincible like in 2004,” he said.
“You need to show a big solidarity in the team and keep the team cohesion.
“The most important thing is to keep the head up and keep the confidence high no matter what. We understand when we do mistakes in the game, and the most important thing is to realise and understand what we have to do better and not to do it again.
“After a bad result, to be honest with you, I don’t sleep too much at home and I try to spend my time with my kids and help me to think about something else but once I comeback to the training ground I’m 100 per cent focused on what I miss, what I need to improve.
“I think as a team we all focus on the same target and we all want to improve so that’s a good point. Obviously we don’t want to make another bad result the game after so I think we are quite good at that, bouncing back straight away.“
When we do lose Alexis, we should start Lacazette and Giroud together. They play off each other very well.
Yes. And can we clone them both as well!?!
Why? That might produce goals.
Who needs goals to win a match when all you need is just running around?
We could buy messi and Lewandoski and still bench them to accommodate some players.
I would love to see them up front with Ozil playing behind them, Elneny and Xhaka recovering in the midfield. Keep 5 at the back.
Nice to see someone at the club who has his shit together.
Wow, a player fighting for something. New Captain?
Great actually…. But another captain that doesn’t start?
perhaps off topic, but i do Feel sad for people like him who have always been loyal to the club.
Without entering the Wenger in or out debate, I desperately look forward to Friday that all this transfer m(s)adness comes to an end…. and that we finaly we know which 1st team player we are going to support.
Sigh. Am I the only one who thinks incoming transfers will do fuck all?
I mean we had Kolasinac, Giroud and Lacazette on the bench and decided to play Monreal CB, Welbeck at ST and started AOC who clearly wanted to leave.
I thought it was Arsene saving us from the same fate as the rest of Kroenke’s franchises but ffs I’m not sure anymore.
This club cannot become any more of a meme than it has already.
Fans always have a go at him and Özil while celebrating Sanchez and Chamberlain. Result: some stay, others go…
Well it looks like we’ll still have at least one player by the end of the transfer window.
As well as getting rid of two players who don’t want to be at the club, which never works, I feel the departure of Sanchez could be a blessing in disguise. I think his one man press persuaded Arsene to use Coquelin higher up the pitch, maybe now we can go back to using him as a defensive midfielder who plays laterally, something he was doing well before. Giroud indeed seems to have linked well with Lacezette so far, give iwobi more game time , ease in Nelson, use some of the money to find another Santi, or something close… Read more »
No matter how many shitgobbers pile on top of him, I’ll always appreciate Giroud and his dedication to working hard.
Agreed. He’s shown his loyalty over the last years on several occasions. Doesn’t whine to the press when he’s not selected, just gets stuck in, and does his job. These are qualities I value highly in any Arsenal player. I’d rather finish 9th and feel proud of my club and my players, than juuust miss out on the title with a bunch of entitled brats. ..and he sports a fine beard. What’s not to like. Like with RvP, Cesc, Nasri and so on, I’d love for the manager to stop bending over backwards to accomodate want-aways, and simply grow a… Read more »
Is the girlfriend in this scenario going off with a rich woman?
You’re assuming a lot based on gender stereotypes. The Internet will explode! Also, I was calling Citeh and Barca “a bitch” 🙂
Actually I was basing it on the fact you said “he” should be saying to go live with “her”.
I guess the initial couple could both be men, with one going to live with the rich woman, so I apologise for making an assumption.
Somehow I feel Mr Wenger will continue with Giroud as his Plan B.
He is too proud to admit his Plan A was a non-starter.
Well giroud has got max 16 league goals/season as a starter and has scored more goals than anyone in the league over the last few years as a sub.
So which way do you feel he is more effective?
Why the downvotes? I offer u 2 facts and u downvote me!
Us Arsenal fans obviously prefer fiction to facts, I can understand that we’ve listened to arsene’s fiction for so many years now 😀
I did not down vote you.
Wenger never plays a team that plays around Giroud. He hardly gets the service he needs. Who knows how many he would have scored if he did.
I do not go by numbers. I go by what I see on the pitch.
Giroud starts for France for a reason.
Well France choose to play with a target man and considering the other option was gignac, it’s not hard to see why he was selected.
Saying that, he has done very well for France and as you said it’s because of they way they use him.
But do you really see arsene getting us to put more crosses in and be more direct generally to get the best out of giroud?
And if he doesn’t then what is the point of starting a player that currently does more damage from the bench for us?
No Wenger will not.
And that is the problem.
Because if he did, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this mess.
ATM Wenger’s Plan A stylish football isn’t working.
When he sends in Plan B, team still doesn’t play up to him either!
Giroud himself wants to stay!!
I did not understand why.
Just to add:
Giroud is the “traditional center forward”, the target man.
A CF also win high balls in the air and create chances for other members of the team. Not necessarily scoring many goals themselves.
Giroud has all attributes of a CF, and he can score goals.
So numbers you quote, to me are meaningless.
So how many assists has he got? goals and assists are not mutually exclusive, remember Thierry and Denis? Winning high balls is fantastic, if you play for a team that plays a lot of high balls. Do we? We usually do when we need a goal and the clock is ticking, which is precisely why he does so well and scores crucial goals when he comes on as a sub. As for the statement that the number of goals a CF scores is meaningless… I’m a bit confused, I mean I’ve always thought that a strikers primary function is to… Read more »
Please read all my comments in continuity.
I didn’t say, the number of goals a CF scores is meaningless. A CF’s role is much more than the goals he scores.
A manager who relies only on Plan B has lost it.
Instead of utilising Giroud as Plan A, Wenger will continue with his experiments.
I am stopping here.
A player that actually wants to stay at arsenal. Awesome, hope he doesn’t score too many goals this season or a big club might want him and then we’ll be fucked… again
When shit goes south you find out who the good ones are…and that handsome fucker is one of the good ones
Play him and Lacazette together please.
finally a post which didnt make me bang my head on the wall ..
love u giroud
FFS – can you imagine if we had sold Giroud in this window on top of the current shit show? What the hell is happening to this club?
Can we start loving this man with all our hearts. He isnt perfect, but still the kind of player we can rely on. Unlike others
Of course he is perfect.
Like it. More and more I’m attracted to the idea of clearing out the people who want to leave and giving the keys to everyone else for this season. We aren’t going to win the league, so can we at least try to get the toxicity out of the club? Sell Ox. Sell Sanchez. Sell Ozil if it comes to it and he wants out. Let Lacazette and Giroud and Jack and Kolasinac and Bellerin and hell even Theo and Welbz and Ramsey go out there and play. Lose the drama first, then work on building a positive energy back… Read more »
Completely 100% agree. Would perhaps have a glimmer of confidence if such a move was a deliberate & intentional move by the manager…But it’s not & we all know it.
We don’t seem to have any sort of plan, & I mean none what so ever. That is truely what is most worrying.
Yes, unfortunately any positive feeling I have about the original idea I suggested goes sour when I think about how Arsene and the club would handle it. And how they probably still wouldn’t add where needed in the end. seems like he’s going out of his way to get it wrong these days. I guess I’m grasping at straws ….
Yep fuck them all
If we sell Ox and Alexis throw that money right back into the team. I’d settle for Seri at this point, or Mahrez. We’re not getting Tommy Lemar or Draxler so let’s bring in someone who wants to play for us. If we can’t get Van Dijk then let’s find a really good centerback from La Liga or Serie A, there are plenty of great players out there and you don’t have to spend a shit-ton of money to acquire them. We need to act fast, yet shrewdly, and buy players who will give us everything. There are two days… Read more »
Really not sure that Mahrez is a player that is hungry to play for Arsenal or will “give us everything”. Is he obtainable…probably. Just see more problems ahead there, & he’d just be following the money.
Amidst this shit show we still have our HFB. At least that’s something to smile about. Come here big man…give us a hug.
Before strikers or anything else we should be trying hard for a functioning midfield. From that base everything will improve.
Push the boat out for someone like Goretzka, double the wages Bayern would offer him and get the engine of this team functioning again. Everything will improve from there
I agree but before we decide what midfielders to buy, maybe we should devise a system and then buy players that fit that system.
I know, radical fucking idea right? I got the idea from watching how successful teams go about their business, it was a real eye opener. ?
Don’t be rediculous
I think you’re spot on that it is glaringly obvious that we lack a strong midfielder. This will sort some ‘on the field problems’ and improve fan mood. The one constant is the board and all associated – that ain’t fixable with some transfer but hey, there is little we can do about that.
Get a strong midfielder and dare I say we won’t miss Alexis as much – Laca and the HFB have goals in that partnership. It may also allow Ozil his freedom that he needs – atleast until next summer!
At least somebody still gives a shit
That in itself is a quality. People say we lack players with heart, for the most part, yes but can’t say that about this lad – look how he keeps showing up for France despite all the dissent about Benzema (mind you surprised his name hasn’t come up today!)
If we had 11 players who weren’t so far up their own arses we’d be a lot better off for sure
He is one of our most under rated players. He gets a lot of stick but his scoring rate is good. He also tracks back and works hard. And my goodness he’s gorgeous!
Cech
Chambers-Mert-Koscielny
Bellerin-Ramsey-Xhaka-Kolasinac
Ozil
Lacazette-Giroud
At the moment for me. Arsene probably won’t buy CM/CDM so he should at least give some youngster a chance to prove. Can’t be worse than what we have now.
4 at the back for me and stick cow in midfield with xhaka and Ramsey or even Xhaka and el Neny
Provided they play like they give a shit – that is a decent team. Had Alexis been talking to PSG or Bayern at this moment, don’t think I would’ve been half as depressed.
This story is on Giroud so let me not do the typical thing and not celebrate the man but wasting text on others who don’t care a damn about our club.
Coq not cow
A cow in midfield…now there’s an idea & it might just work 🙂
Udderly ridiculous!
Crumbs that defense is injury prone!!! Can’t believe we are letting mustafi go!! Big thumbs up to OG, top top quality ?
Never wanted us to let him go. He may not like it but he is such a reliable option from the bench and incredibly underrated IMO
In a sinking ship full of escaping rats it’s good to hear some players still want to be here and fight for The Arsenal. Man the life boats Ollie and bring us some joy. Let’s go 442 with ollie and alex up front. Could be deadly.
Him staying here and soldiering on only solidifies his status as an Arsenal hero. He gets ragged by the fans here and there for not being good enough and wanting someone better and puts up with being sent down the pecking order from the manager. He plays hurt and still goes balls to the wall when it’s in his right to sit and pout and ask for a way out like the rest of the lot. In the face of all that he still comes on when called, wins matches and does the dirty work. If anyone deserves to go… Read more »
Giroud to lead Arsenal to a title and France to a WC win to become the real TGSTEL. Not impossible.
Slightly off topic but do you guys think we’d have been so badly fucked by Liverpool if we’d played Elneny he may not be perfect but I think he would have at leasthe been putting a shift in in the area where we were getting hurt. And he’s area big bastard too. Plus he’s another one like Giroud who seems genuinely grateful to be at The Arsenal.
I suspect with more game time we can truly tell if he is good enough or not – he has had some good performances but all in all, one cannot level ‘not giving a shit’ at either of them, fully agree.
Agree, I would like Elneny and Xhaka to get an extended run and I’d like Giroud and Laccazette up front.
I find it interesting that Wenger would have allowed him leave as well. It was Giroud’s decision to stay. Is this even normal?
It’s normal for wenger. Abnormally normal.
Yes, it is normal. In circumstances, where you are happy if the player stays, but are willing to let him go to further his career/make some money.
Then it is totally normal.
Example: When Mata was sold by Thundercunt from Chelsea to ManU.
I nearly forgot that the deluded one was also prepared to let HFB leave- really, who are we planning to keep? Wenger was saying we had too much depth but this fire sale is mental!!!
If it’s true that Arsenal wants Aguero in a potential trade for Alexis, either Giroud or Welbeck would have to be sold.
Apparently Mustafi is set to stay , Mesut Ozil seems to be loyal so he is gonna stay too , I think Arsenal should sell both Ox and Sanchez , they are not good to the team with that attitude , if Arsenal doesn’t want to screw up the rest of the games i think a diamond 4 4 2 will help the team :
Cech
Bellerin , Mustafi , Kos , Kolasinac
Ramsey, Coquelin/Elneny , Xhaka
Ozil
Giroud , Laca
The HFB perfectly represents the values of this club. Many of these Values that Wenger has undoubtedly inculcated and for that I love the man. Wonder if there will be any shred of loyalty left in 5 years.
Would love to see the team line up as a 4-2-1-3
CECH
BEL HOLDING KOS TANK
XHAKA MAITLAND-NILES
RAMSEY
OZIL GIROUD LACAZETTE
As mentioned for a long time now…he is not a plan B.
And people were willing to sell him….imagine if he was sold as well…we would be left with Lacazette which is fine…and ere Welbeck.
OG is Arsenal through and through. Should be erecting a statue of him scorpion kick.
would love to see 5 five @ the back 5,3 1,1 well have a better changes
I think the best thing to do to arsenal right now is stop going to support them, both home and away. That way the board will sit up.