Olivier Giroud returns to Arsenal's Emirates with Lille in Champions League
Olivier Giroud, now 40 and playing for Lille, faces his former club Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, 13 October, in the Champions League.
A return to the Emirates
Olivier Giroud, now 40, will play for Lille against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, 13 October, in the second matchday of the Champions League, with kick-off at 21:00 according to French reports. It is his return to the club he joined from Montpellier in July 2012 and left for Chelsea in December 2018. In five and a half seasons at Arsenal he scored 105 goals, made 253 appearances and won three FA Cups, but never the Premier League. At a press conference on Monday, 12 October, Giroud said he had secretly hoped for exactly this chance, and he added that the emotional side of the occasion would need managing. He also said that the team remained his first priority.
It's great to come back here at 40, with a French club, and against Mikel Arteta.
Fans, a chant and the scorpion kick
Arsenal supporters adopted Giroud almost at once, singing "Nananana, Gi-roud" to the tune of "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. Giroud recalled that the chant started at Anfield in his second match, against Liverpool, and said he felt welcomed "like a member of the family" straight away. His first season brought 17 goals and 11 assists, and he quickly became a regular starter. The Premier League title eluded him in 2015-16, when Leicester won it, despite his 16 league goals that season. In January 2017 his scorpion-kick goal against Crystal Palace was named the Puskas Award winner for the year, a moment an Arsenal fan quoted by SudOuest called one of the most beautiful goals ever scored.
- Joins Arsenal from Montpellier
- Scores his first goal in England in a 6-1 League Cup win over Coventry
- Scorpion-kick goal against Crystal Palace, later named the Puskas Award winner
- Leaves Arsenal for Chelsea
Lille's form and Arsenal's position
Lille sit second in Ligue 1 but lost their first Champions League match to Real Betis. Davide Ancelotti, Lille's coach, is younger than his striker and says the side has an excellent defence but struggles to create play and score. Ancelotti said Lille would need an almost perfect match to beat Arsenal and that the team would try to do exactly that. Arsenal were finalists in the previous Champions League edition and won at Napoli in early September. In the Premier League they sit second, three points behind the leaders Manchester City, and they are chasing the pace set by City week after week.
Team news and the coaches' views
According to 20minutes, Giroud is expected to start on the bench on Tuesday, with the Japanese striker Ayase Ueda expected to start in his place. In an interview with L'Equipe, Giroud said he would push his coach for a place, pointing out that he had been on the bench for Lille's last three matches.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's coach and Giroud's former teammate, praised him at a press conference on Monday, calling him extremely intelligent and very difficult for opponents to contain. Arteta also said his arrival had a considerable impact on the team and described Lille as a very tough opponent that is extremely well coached, adding that Ancelotti's work is remarkable. Arteta's comments were made on Monday, 12 October, the day before the match.Frankly, I had been dreaming of it.
