So it seems as if some Arsenal players did more than just go to Euro 2012 to represent their country, as new boy Olivier Giroud revealed how France teammate Laurent Koscielny persuaded him to make the move to the Emirates.
After weeks of speculation, football’s worst kept secret was finally made public as Giroud penned a long-term contact after completing a medical and cost the Gunners around £12m from French champions Montpellier.
The 25-year-old as spent the majority of his career in the lower leagues in France before making his breakthrough at Montpellier, where it took him two seasons to establish himself as the Ligue 1 top scorer as his club won the league.
Giroud claims to be a late developer, which is one of the similarities between himself and centre-back Koscielny.
The defender spent just one year in the top division with Lorient before opting to switch to North London after spending a number of years in the lower divisions himself, and Koscielny managed to convince Giroud that Arsenal was the right move for his career.
“Of course [he is an inspiration], we have had a similar path in our careers,” said Giroud.
“I’m happy that he’s here now and that I can join him, and it’s a nice story because we were together at Tours four years ago, and we just missed out on getting promoted into Ligue 1.
“It was Montpellier who got promoted instead, and I joined them a few years later. It was there that I then exploded into Ligue 1 and then got into the French squad. Had they told me four years ago that I would be playing for Arsenal I would have signed right there and then!”
“Laurent and I have talked a lot [about Arsenal]. I asked him about life, the Club and the environment of the Club. We talked about English football because like I said I’ve wanted to play here since I was a kid.
“It was my dream to play in the Premier League so Arsenal was ideal for me and Laurent told me it was a good choice.”
Giroud becomes Arsenal’s second signing of the summer after Lukas Podolski joined the club prior to Euro 2012.
Matt Cotton
@FindingCotton
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