Olivier Giroud has insisted that he had to leave Arsenal last month as he saw Chelsea as being the “perfect club” for him to continue his career with.
Giroud fell down the pecking order at the Gunners following the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette during the summer transfer window and was consigned to mainly coming off the bench at the Emirates during the first half of the season.
All in all, the 31-year-old went on to start just one Premier League game for the Gunners this term.
The Frenchman would have likely slipped further down Arsene Wenger’s list of preferred strikers for the second half of the season after the club secured the services of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund in January.
Giroud hungry for game time ahead of World Cup
Giroud will be hoping to be a starter for the French national team at the World Cup in Russia later this year and had he remained at the Gunners, his chances would have been in jeopardy.
Considering that Chelsea are experiencing something of a crisis in front of goal at the moment, in part due to the poor form of Alvaro Morata, Chelsea were a good choice for Giroud and he will likely get regular opportunities under Antonio Conte.
Giroud ended up joining Conte’s side for £18 million and made an impressive debut as he set up Eden Hazard’s goal during the Blues 3-0 win over West Brom.
Striker “proud” to be a Blue
Giroud said: “It’s been a while since I played regularly and that’s why I needed to move. I needed a new challenge and Chelsea was the perfect club for me. It’s a club which has won more titles in the past ten years than any other. It’s a massive club and I am very proud to be here and to carry on my career in the Premier League.
“I had five amazing years [at Arsenal], but now it’s a new chapter of my career and I am focused 100 percent on the Blues to reach our targets. I’m very happy to be here.”
Giroud has left a club who are playing in the Europa League and have been dumped out of the FA Cup. Not only that, but they also face a difficult battle to finish in the top four this season, as they are currently in sixth place in the league standings and are eight points adrift of his current club Chelsea, who are in fourth place.
