This Thursday evening, at Villa Park, Olivier Giroud returns to the English fields that he spent a long time with Arsenal and Chelsea and his favorite victim, Aston Villa.
With 9 seasons in the Premier League from 2012 to 2021, including 6 with Arsenal and 3 with Chelsea, Olivier Giroud and his 144 goals will have left a great mark in England. During his 6 years at Arsenal, the 2018 world champion scored 105 goals in 253 matches with the added bonus of 3 FA Cups and 3 Community Shields. Gunners supporters adopted him as soon as he signed by dedicating a song to him.
“I was very lucky because in the second league match with Arsenal, they played me a song to ‘Hey Jude’ by the Beatles at Anfield. And that’s when I understood that the English public loved football. They knew how to welcome the players even though I hadn’t even scored for the club yet. You just want to give back to them on the pitch. I left a lot of friends with whom I am still in contact today. For me, it remains unforgettable.”
In 2018, Olivier Giroud joined the Chelsea Blues and climbed to the roof of Europe with a Champions League in 2021 and a Europa League which he won in 2019 against Arsenal where he scored the first goal against the Gunners in Baku.
‘Giroud has had a bigger impact than some Chelsea fans would have imagined’
Blues supporters have not forgotten the Blues’ top scorer. “He is very popular,” explains Charly, “he is one of the best strikers we have had in recent years. He was very important in the Champions League in 2021. He is an underrated player too. He has brought a lot to Chelsea. He has scored important goals, he is a good team player and a scorer who has had a greater impact than some Chelsea fans would have imagined.
English journalists like Simon Johnson who works for The Athletic have fond memories of Olivier Giroud’s time in England. “Eden Hazard considers him the best striker in the game. I have a lot of respect for Giroud, he is more loved here (at Chelsea) than at Arsenal. We saw it with the Chelsea fans, they absolutely respected him. He played an important role in winning the 2021 Champions League. Everyone remembers him cycling to Madrid. Chelsea are trying to find the same style of player but they haven’t succeeded so far.”
Giroud will go down in Premier League history
Chelsea, which has just been knocked out by PSG in the Champions League and which is struggling in the league with a modest 6th place, has not found an attacker of the caliber of Giroud as explained by Jack Rosser, journalist for the Sun. “Since he’s gone, his legacy has been better in England. I was lucky enough to follow him at Arsenal and Chelsea and I always thought he was fantastic. We went to Los Angeles to see him last year and he looked very relaxed. I’m surprised he came back to Europe but I think he’ll go down in Premier League history. He scored fantastic goals in big moments and in big matches too.”
In his career, it was against Aston Villa that Olivier Giroud scored the most goals, 10 in total. Playing again in England is always a pleasure for the Lille striker. “A few years ago, I had the opportunity to come back with Milan at Stamford Bridge. It was a lot of emotions. Plus it was in a club with which I had played. Here today, at Aston Villa, I have good memories too. It’s always special to come back here in England, in a country that lives, eats, sleeps football…it’s very exciting.”
This evening LOSC will have to perform an exploit to qualify for the quarter-final of the Europa League by already coming back one goal behind Aston Villa but also face the Villa Park crowd that Olivier Giroud knows well. “In the majority of British clubs, the public is very knowledgeable. They react a lot to everything that happens on the pitch, to defensive tackles, to wing changes…. They live the match to the fullest. In general, there are no kops like in France but when they sing, it’s all together. It’s always a beautiful atmosphere. It breathes football. It’s a great stadium with, for me, one of the best pitches in England. will have no excuses if there are poor controls.”
At the end of his contract at Lille, Olivier Giroud does not yet know if he will continue his football career. One thing is certain, the 2018 world champion does not want to play his last European at Villa Park.
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