Olivier Giroud has revealed that an Arsenal defender he played alongside is one of the best he’s ever played with.
The French striker spent five-and-a-half years in North London, making 253 appearances and scoring 105 goals in the process.
Leaving for Chelsea in January 2018, Giroud arguably damaged his Arsenal legacy by making the switch to West London, although he remains fondly remembered by many Gunners supporters.
However, the divisive centre-forward did play in a dysfunctional iteration of Arsene Wenger’s team, which likely inhibits how highly he is viewed in the pantheon of Arsenal strikers.
Olivier Giroud says Laurent Koscielny was one of the best defenders he’s ever played with
Giroud joined Arsenal two years after his compatriot, Laurent Koscielny, completed his move to the Emirates.
Like the striker, Koscielny left controversially and for just £5 million, famously going on strike from pre-season training and wearing a Bordeaux shirt over his Gunners shirt in his signing announcement video for the Ligue 1 club.
However, the centre-back was comfortably the best that Wenger had during the 2010s, and he remained loyal to the North Londoners in a period when he could’ve moved elsewhere.
Making 353 appearances for Arsenal, Koscielny ought to be viewed as one of the best to have played for the Gunners in recent times.
He is by Giroud, who selected him in a hypothetical squad of the best players he’s played alongside.
Picking the former Arsenal skipper alongside Raphael Varane, Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz, this show of faith from the Lille man clearly demonstrates just how good Koscielny actually was.
Giroud isn’t the only one who has backed the defender; Alex Iwobi once described Koscielny as ‘underrated’.
Olivier Giroud also picked Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil in his squad
Giroud clearly still holds a soft spot for Arsenal.
When tasked with assembling this all-star squad of former teammates, he selected three more Gunners players, as well as Luiz and Koscielny.
Jack Wilshere was named in Giroud’s squad, in a midfield cohort that included Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Blaise Matuidi.
As for his attacking midfielders, the number nine also selected Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil.
There was, however, no room for Alexis Sanchez, arguably Arsenal’s best player of the 2010s. The Chilean was beaten to Giroud’s fantasy ensemble by the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Eden Hazard and Ousmane Dembele.
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