Kylian Mbappe has delivered his verdict on a former Arsenal player who was often criticised during his time at the club.
The Frenchman, who recently agreed to join Real Madrid on a free transfer from PSG, will now lead Les Bleus at Euro 2024 in Germany.
Mbappe is arguably the best player in the world, and we are excited to see how he’ll fare for France in the coming weeks.
The 25-year-old, however, is not expected to be France’s main striker – that spot could be filled by a player who once played for Arsenal.
Mbappe has now heaped praise on him.
Kylian Mbappe delivers honest verdict on former Arsenal star Olivier Giroud
Olivier Giroud spent six-and-a-half years at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger.
The striker, who joined the Gunners from Montpellier, played 253 games for the Gunners in all competitions, scored 105 goals and provided 37 assists.
Giroud is one of the most accomplished strikers in the world, having won league titles in France and Italy and also the Champions League and the Europa League at Chelsea.
He also won the World Cup with France in 2018, but the Frenchman doesn’t often get the credit he deserves. He was constantly criticised when he was at Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups.
However, Mbappe has nothing but praise for Giroud. The Real Madrid star hailed how he never gave up despite so many adversities and claimed that he has huge respect for the former Arsenal man.
Speaking to Ouest-France about Giroud, Mbappe said: “Legend of the French team. Often criticized, however. But he is the best scorer in the history of our selection. 57 goals that speak for themselves.
“At 37, he’s still there. He doesn’t let go. He never gave up, anyway. He always came to take away what was owed to him. I have nothing but respect for Olivier.
“It’s important to have a player of his experience in this young group. He really tries to share his experience as much as possible. He’s a bit like the dad of the team. He’s old enough to be Warren’s (Zaïre-Emery) father! It’s crazy, though.
“This is his last competition, so we will try to make the most of it for him, so that he goes to the United States with a head full of memories.”
When asked if Giroud will remain the top-scorer for France for a long time, Mbappe replied with a smile: “Not necessarily, no. But we don’t talk about that.
“I know what an accomplishment this record represents for him. As long as he is our team’s top scorer, we must remember him, talk about him, and not about those who are likely to catch up with him.
“It’s up to us to honour him. I think it’s important, as I said for Antoine (Griezmann). We don’t have to wait for these guys to leave to realize what they have done for the country.”
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How ‘desperate’ Giroud almost joined Tottenham once
Giroud left Arsenal and joined Chelsea in January 2018.
The Frenchman wasn’t the first name on the team sheet during his time at Stamford Bridge, but he still produced plenty of memorable moments for the Blues.
However, there came a time when Giroud realised that he wasn’t going to get the game time he wanted, so he decided to push for a move away from Stamford Bridge.
The striker had quite a few options on the table at the time – including a move to Arsenal and Chelsea’s fierce London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.
Giroud revealed that he even spoke to then-Blues manager Frank Lampard about joining Spurs. However, in the end, he ended up at AC Milan, and that proved to be the right move for him.
Speaking about how he almost joined Tottenham, Giroud said in 2022: “I was so desperate to leave that I even told Lampard that I’d have joined Tottenham because I knew that Jose Mourinho wanted me.
“In the end, I think it would have been difficult because I had played for Arsenal. Destiny wanted me to be here, wearing the Rossoneri shirt.”