Olivier Giroud explained why it ‘made sense’ for him to swap Arsenal for Chelsea following the former’s signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The French striker joined the Blues on the last day of January after the Gunners had brought in Aubameyang to replace Alexis Sanchez, now of Manchester United.
“It made sense for me to take a new direction in my career,” Giroud told Telefoot. “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.”
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had been searching for a striker throughout the January transfer window, seeing him linked with numerous forwards like Roma’s Edin Dzeko, West Ham’s Andy Carroll, and Stoke City’s Peter Crouch.
“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 said.
“My choice was quite clear and obvious when I knew that Antonio Conte wanted to work with me.
“The conversation was more important, I know that Conte appreciates my profile, we will work well together. [Alvaro Morata and I] are the two main strikers at Chelsea. There will be good competition between us.”
Giroud also admitted that his chances of playing for France at this year’s World Cup were in the balance, having scored four goals in Premier League 16 appearances for the Gunners so far this season.
“I spoke with Deschamps,” Giroud added. “He didn’t tell me to move to Chelsea, but he did tell me to move clubs.”
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