Olivier Giroud doesn’t appear too concerned with burning any bridges
Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final on Wednesday, with none other than former Gunners striker Olivier Giroud opening the scoring for the Blues with a wonderful diving header into the bottom corner.
He chose not to celebrate at the time given his long history with Arsenal, but all bets were off after the game as he got his hands on the trophy on the team bus, hoisted it aloft, and shouted: “THANK YOU ARSENAL”. Yikes.
If that wasn’t enough to make Gunners supporters feel miserable, he has now opened up in an interview on the official Chelsea website about how he saw his move to the Blues in the January transfer window of 2018 as an ‘improvement’ on his situation at Arsenal.
The Frenchman explained: “It was an improvement going from Arsenal to Chelsea and I knew I would have the opportunity to win some more trophies.
“To win this Europa League one year after winning the World Cup is great for me.”
“I’m a Blue, a proper Blue. It’s a new chapter of my career and it was very special to score. I am so proud of this team.”
He also admitted that his opening goal in the final in Baku felt even more special because it came against his former club.
Giroud finished as top scorer in the Europa League with 11 goals and 5 assists in 14 appearances in the competition and ended the interview by reiterating his desire to challenge for the Champions League next season.
“I’m 32, nearly 33, but I feel like there is more and more to come. I am still hungry and I am looking forward to next year: playing in the Champions League and fighting for more titles.”
