Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has revealed that he might have been playing for the opposition in this weekend’s FA Cup tie if things had panned out differently.
The 28-year-old says that opponents Middlesbrough once tried to sign him, before he was on Arsenal’s radar.
Boro’s interest in landing Giroud came during his time at former club Tours. Giroud played for them between 2008 and 2010, which would make former Middlesbrough managers Gareth Southgate or Gordon Strachan his likely suitor.
Discussing the interest from the Teessiders, Giroud told Arsenal’s official website: “Middlesbrough and Celtic [also wanted to sign me]. It was a great team… today they are close to coming back into the English Premier League.
“It will be nice to play against them and it will remind me of my previous years in Tours.”
In the end, Giroud instead signed for another French team, Montpellier, in the summer of 2010 instead. He fired them to a first Ligue 1 title in the 2011/12 season, scoring 21 goals along the way.
That prompted Arsenal to snap him up ahead of the 2012/13 season in a deal reported to be worth £9.6m.
He left Montpellier with a record of 33 goals in 73 league games and currently has 34 goal in 82 league games for the Gunners.
