One of the many players shared between Chelsea and Arsenal over the years, Olivier Giroud appears to have planted his flag on the blue side of London judging by his greatest XI.
The Frenchman was a guest on Monday Night Football, where he spent the evening recounting special moments from his career and giving his opinion on the current state of his former clubs.
Giroud discussed Chelsea’s title chances with Enzo Maresca among other things, as well as how he feels about some of the current star players.
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Then it was time to look back and select his all-time XI of players he played with.
Olivier Giroud gives Chelsea preference over Arsenal in his all-time XI
Giroud has played with some seriously talented players over the years, for club and country.
He led the line for France in their 2018 World Cup-winning campaign, won titles with Montpellier and AC Milan, and was pivotal in Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League run, scoring six goals in eight appearances.
He also spent time at Arsenal and LAFC, giving him a fairly large pool of players to select from when the task was posed to him on MNF.
Olivier Giroud for AC Milan
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Up top, he goes with Eden Hazard to join Kylian Mbappe in the front line, explaining: “Eden. Eden obviously. Yeah, I had a great time with him. We had an amazing understanding on the pitch.”
Giroud played with some top attackers at Arsenal — most notably Alexis Sanchez and Alexander Lacazette, but the connection he formed with Hazard makes it an easy decision for the 39-year-old.
Elsewhere in his team, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger were picked, as was N’Golo Kante.
Giroud said: “Obviously the experience of Thiago Silva at Chelsea with Rudiger, who you don’t want to play against because he’s very, very tough in the duels. So I think it’s a good combination of experience roughness and intelligence.”
“Kante there, one of the best holding midfield players we’ve probably ever seen. He can do the job of two men.”
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N'Golo Kante with PL trophy for Chelsea
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Giroud went with just two Arsenal players — Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil. Elsewhere, France unsurprisingly dominated, with Hugo Lloris, Raphael Varane, Antoine Griezmann and Franck Ribery making up the XI.
As far as clubs go though, Chelsea stands out with four players. Perhaps the trophies he won at Stamford Bridge have steered him in that direction when remembering teammates.
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