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Tag: Olivier Giroud

  • Giroud demands important role at Chelsea next season

    Striker Olivier Giroud said on Wednesday he has been approached by other clubs to play for them next season, but he added he wanted to extend his stay Chelsea.

    The Frenchman however pointed out that staying at Stamford Bridge would depend on if manager Maurizio Sarri could offer him regular first team opportunities.

    Giroud, who is the top scorer in the UEFA Europa League with nine goals, is out of contract at the end of the campaign.

    Chelsea however have an option to extend it for another 12 months.

    The 32-year-old Frenchman has started just seven English Premier League games this season.

    He has seen limited opportunities since the arrival of Argentina international striker Gonzalo Higuain in January.

    “Trust me (to agree that) I’m very frustrated when I’m not on the pitch, but I just don’t want to show it,” Giroud told a news conference in London ahead of Chelsea’s UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg against Slavia Prague on Thursday.

    “You need to keep that frustration for you, and transform that into positive energy on the pitch.

    “I’m not happy to play the second role. That’s why I said next year I will need to have a more important role to play in the team.”

    When asked whether he has already had offers to go elsewhere, Giroud added: “Yes but I won’t reveal that now. The priority is Chelsea.

    “With what I’ve achieved here, there is no reason they won’t give me one more year. But I need to be happy, also.”

    Chelsea hold a 1-0 advantage over Slavia Prague from the away leg, courtesy of a late headed goal by defender Marcos Alonso.

    They will be without defender Antonio Rudiger, who limped out of Sunday’s 2-0 league defeat against Liverpool at Anfield with a knee injury.

    However, Chelsea’s assistant coach Gianfranco Zola expects the German international to return for the league trip to top-four rivals Manchester United on April 28.

    “It looks not as bad as we thought, luckily. When he came off limping, we were worried,” Zola said.

    “Yes, there is a strong possibility that we see him (against Manchester United). He’s a warrior and won’t want to miss a game like that.

    “The next few days will be very important to see if he can continue recovering.”

  • Giroud frustrated by lack of game time at Chelsea

    Olivier Giroud admits his lack of playing time at Chelsea is “frustrating” and has hinted that he is prepared to return to France in search of more football.

    The 32-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, has made just six Premier League starts this season.

    Giroud, who won the World Cup with France last summer, was also part of the Chelsea side which lifted the FA Cup last season, but is firmly behind the on-loan Gonzalo Higuain in the current pecking order.

    “Of course it’s frustrating,” Giroud told French radio station RTL. “Today, I have the impression there is clearly no competition [for places in attack] since January.

    “It’s like that, I know that I will only play in the Europa League. I try to do what it takes to be as effective and as important as I can for the team.”

    Giroud, who left Montpellier for Arsenal in the summer of 2012 before joining the Blues in January last year, indicated he could be open to a return to domestic French football.

    “The future may be hectic this summer,” he said. “I’m not afraid to go down a level to have more playing time. It could be I end my career in France.”

  • Transfer news: Chelsea striker Giroud close to Barca move

    Barcelona have made a shock move to sign striker, Olivier Giroud from Chelsea in this January transfer window.

    Giroud has struggled to command a regular spot in the first-team at Chelsea under manager, Maurizio Sarri.

    The France World Cup winner arrived Stamford Bridge from Arsenal in January 2018.

    However, Barcelona are looking for a new striker to provide support to Luis Suarez, their first-choice centre-forward.

    RMC Sport is reporting that the Catalan club have identified Giroud as one of the top transfer targets to sign this month to assist Suarez at the Camp Nou.

    Giroud came off the bench in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle United on Saturday in the Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge.

    The 32-year-old has scored just 10 goals for Chelsea since joining the West London club this time last year.

  • Europa: Sloppy Chelsea held by MOL Vidi despite Giroud stunner

    Europa: Sloppy Chelsea held by MOL Vidi despite Giroud stunner

    A sloppy Chelsea team were held to a 2-2 draw by MOL Vidi on Thursday night in Hungary despite stunning goals from Olivier Giroud and Willian.

    Blues boss Maurizio Sarri, as he has done throughout this season’s Europa League, rotated his team with youngsters Ethan Ampadu, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all starting.

    The Blues took the lead thanks to a fine free-kick from Willian, finding the top corner of the Hungarians’ net from the edge of the box, but were pegged back when Ampadu headed into his own net from a corner.

    Vidi then went ahead after the break when Loic Nego thundered in a volley, giving them a chance of qualifying for the last 32, but a stunning free-kick from substitute Olivier Giroud denied them victory.

    Chelsea still qualify as group winners but this was a disappointing performance.

  • Giroud dismisses Chelsea exit, says he’ll fight for his place

    Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has dismissed speculation linking him with a move away from Stamford Bridge, insisting he will “fight” for his place at the London club.

    The France international has started just four times in the Premier League this season under new head coach Maurizio Sarri, with Alvaro Morata often preferred in attack.

    Giroud, 32, is out of contract next summer and has yet to agree terms on a new deal, but the World Cup winner says he is only focused on securing more game at Chelsea.

    “Would I have to consider a departure to keep my place in the national team? I feel like it is as if we are where we were several months ago when I was being asked the same questions before the World Cup, the striker told TeleFoot

    “Today I am calm, happy with this World Cup title. I don’t need to put myself under more pressure than that.

    “Of course, I am a competitor and I would like more playing time. But I am in a very big club, with very big players.

    “I am going to fight and for the moment, it is not a question about seeking a departure. I am going to stick in there and do not expect me to give up.”

    Giroud’s only strike for the Blues so far this season came in the 1-0 Europa League victory over Bate Borisov.

     

  • Giroud ends goal drought, sends Chelsea through in Europa League

    Olivier Giroud scored his first Chelsea goal in 794 minutes as the Blues progressed to the Europa League knockout stages with a 1-0 win at BATE Borisov.

    The France international, who had not scored under Sarri, headed in Emerson’s cross at the near post early in the second period to maintain the Blues’ 100% Group L record.

    “I’m pleased for him,” Sarri said. “I know strikers want to score. And so for his confidence, I think it’s very important.

    “I don’t want him to be worried about scoring, because for us he’s very important, a very, very useful player for the team.”

    Seven changes were made to the side which last Sunday beat Crystal Palace 3-1, with Hazard starting for the first time since the draw with Manchester United on October 20.

    Chelsea are now six points clear of Hungarian side MOL Vidi, who moved up to second in the group with a win over PAOK Salonika.

  • Substitute Giroud seals Chelsea’s victory over Southampton

    Substitute Olivier Giroud scored twice as Chelsea came from 2-0 down to win at Southampton and keep alive their faint hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League.

    Dusan Tadic’s opener, a placed effort following Ryan Bertrand’s marauding run, and Polish defender Jan Bednarek’s left-footed shot looked to be lifting Saints out of the bottom three.

    But, with Mark Hughes seemingly on course for a first league victory as Southampton manager since arriving on 14 March, Giroud sparked a listless Chelsea into life.

    The France forward’s header – his first league goal for Antonio Conte’s team – and left-footed drive sandwiched Eden Hazard’s left-foot finish as the Blues moved within seven points of fourth-placed Tottenham.

    For an hour, Chelsea’s performance epitomised their travails since the turn of the year, with the defending champions having collected just 12 points from a possible 33.

    Willian’s 55th-minute shot was their first effort on target, and there were question marks over the application of several players in the build-up to both Saints goals.

    One of those players – wing-back Marcos Alonso – was also fortunate to escape without punishment for standing on the back of Southampton forward Shane Long’s calf in the first half.

    BBC

  • Sad to leave Arsenal but Chelsea move ‘made sense’ – Olivier Giroud

    Sad to leave Arsenal but Chelsea move ‘made sense’ – Olivier Giroud

    Olivier Giroud has admitted that he was disappointed to leave Arsenal but is looking forward to a fresh challenge at Chelsea.

    The 31-year-old striker signed for the Blues for £18 million from their London rivals after Arsenal snapped up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund, while Michy Batshuayi went from Stamford Bridge on loan to the German club.

    Having started just one of his 16 appearances in the Premier League this season after the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette, Giroud sought a move away from Arsenal in January in order to play more regularly.

    “The fact is that the coach wanted to recruit a new striker and with Aubameyang’s signing at Arsenal, there were three top strikers, and that’s why I decided to leave,” Giroud told Telefoot.

    “It made sense for me to take a new direction in my career. There was a bit of disappointment, even though I spent five wonderful years there.

    “I could have stayed, but I needed a solution to get back in. I wanted to stay in the Premier League and Chelsea was a great opportunity for me.”

    He added that France boss Didier Deschamps had hinted that he needed to move in order to win a berth at the World Cup in the summer.

    “I spoke with Deschamps,” he said. “He didn’t tell me to move to Chelsea, but he did tell me to move clubs.”

    The opportunity to work with Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge was one he did not wish to turn down and he is hopeful of challenging Alvaro Morata for game time.

    “My choice was quite clear and obvious when I knew that Antonio Conte wanted to work with me,” he added.

    “The conversation was more important, I know that Conte appreciates my profile, we will work well together.

    “[Morata and I] are the two main strikers at Chelsea. There will be good competition between us.”

    Indeed, Chelsea were far from alone in chasing the centre-forward.

    “Dortmund were interested in me, but for a loan, there was Sevilla too and at one point my agent received a call from Roma,” he revealed.

    Giroud spent five and a half years at Arsenal after signing from Ligue 1 side Montpellier and went on to win three FA Cups with Arsene Wenger’s side.