He didn’t celebrate when he opened the scoring. On the team bus it was a different story
Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final on Wednesday night thanks to a brace from Eden Hazard, in what appears to be his final game for the Blues, and a goal each from Giroud and Pedro.
Bar an Alex Iwobi screamer, Arsenal didn’t really turn up, with 19-year-old substitute Joe Willock having more impact on the game than any of the Gunners’ more high-profile starters.
It will be a particularly painful loss, not only because it was Chelsea and there was a place in the Champions League at stake, but because their former striker Olivier Giroud opened the scoring with a textbook diving header in the 49th minute.
After that Chelsea ran riot, and Giroud’s best attribute – his exceptional hold-up play – was on full display when he set up Hazard for his second to make it 4-1 and seal the game.
In fairness to the French target man, he chose not to celebrate when he scored against the club he has made over 250 appearances for, instead opting to fall to his knees and point to the Azerbaijan sky.
On the coach after the game though? Well, that was an ever so slightly different story.
Captured by Chelsea midfielder Jorginho and posted to his Instagram story, Giroud can be seen standing in the aisle of the team bus, hoisting the rather sizeable Europa League trophy aloft and shouting “THANK YOU ARSENAL!” to fits of laughter from his teammates.
You know it’s bad when Gonzalo Higuain is telling you to sit down and be quiet.
This is very sensitive viewing if you’re an Arsenal fan, you have been warned.
‘Thank you @Arsenal’ 😂 pic.twitter.com/KC3tX1yYyR
— The Blues (@TheBlues___) May 30, 2019
And for any Arsenal fans feeling down about this: just remember, you’ll have another crack at Europa League glory next year. So don’t worry about it, alright?
