Olivier Giroud says his agent told him not to sign for Arsenal because of £24m player

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Olivier Giroud will go down in history as a true cult hero at Arsenal.

Indeed, Giroud was a seriously underrated player, and while he won’t be considered one of the greatest of all-time, Arsenal fans will always have a soft spot for Olivier Giroud.

The Frenchman joined Arsenal back in 2012 after starring in Ligue 1 for Montpellier, but the deal very nearly didn’t go ahead.

Speaking on Premier League Stories, Giroud has been discussing his move to Arsenal, and he says that his agent told him not to sign for Arsenal due to the fact Robin van Persie was at the club.

Olivier Giroud was warned about Robin van Persie at Arsenal

Giroud spoke about his initial move to the Emirates.

The striker says that he was sold on joining the Gunners no matter what, even though, at one point, his agent told him to avoid Arsenal due to the presence of Robin van Persie.

Van Persie would, of course, leave Arsenal that summer to join Manchester United in a £24m deal and Giroud would have a much clearer first-team path.

“I told my agent, I want to go no matter what, and my agent said, ‘but look, Van Persie is still there, you will sit on the bench and watch him play.’ I said I don’t mind, I want to be there and I want to work alongside these players and alongside Arsene Wenger, it was my childhood dream come true and I couldn’t let it go,” Giroud said.

Olivier Giroud compared to Robin van Persie

Giroud’s agent told him to avoid Arsenal due to Van Persie, and while that advice was unnecessary, it was good advice in a way.

Indeed, as good as Giroud was, he was unlikely to start over Van Persie at Arsenal if the Dutchman had stayed at the club.

Compare the two players’ stats for Arsenal, and you can see there’s a gulf in quality here.

Luckily for Giroud, Van Persie didn’t offer any competition at Arsenal as he left the club that summer, but, if he had stayed, Giroud likely wouldn’t have been starting many games under Arsene Wenger during this period.