The Frenchman’s move to Italy’s Serie A brings to an end his three-and-half-year stay at Stamford Bridge following a deadline day transfer from Arsenal in January 2018. On signing for the club, he said: ‘My ambition is to win some trophies. That’s why I am playing football. I am a competitor and I want to win again and again.’
He achieved that by lifting the FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League during his time as a Blue, scoring in the semi-final of the FA Cup, the final of the Europa League, and netting the 2020/21 Chelsea Goal of the Season during last season’s pathway to triumph in Porto. While at Chelsea, Giroud also claimed global glory on the international stage when France won the FIFA World Cup.
Giroud made the switch across the capital with a proven pedigree of scoring goals at the highest level, having spent five-and-a-half years at the Emirates. After making his debut under Antonio Conte away at Watford, the striker netted his maiden goal for the club in a 4-0 FA Cup win over Hull City. Cup exploits would go on to define his time as a Chelsea player.
It was not until April that he scored his first Premier League goals in blue, though a late brace on the South Coast proved particularly significant as we came from 2-0 down to beat Southampton. Against the same opponents a week later at Wembley, our number 18 opened the scoring with a brilliant individual goal, slaloming through the Saints defence to set us on the way to victory in the FA Cup semi-final.
On our return to the national stadium in May, a hard-working and effective performance from him helped us defeat Manchester United 1-0 and earned Giroud his fourth winners’ medal in the competition. A couple of weeks earlier, a fine header settled a tight league contest against Liverpool at the Bridge. He ended that first half-season with five goals to his name.
International duty called in the summer of 2018 and, while Giroud did not score for France at the World Cup finals in Russia, his influence was no less important. He featured in every game, starting all six from the second group game onwards, as Les Bleus were crowned world champions for the second time.
The forward’s involvement right to the end of the tournament delayed his return to pre-season training under new boss Maurizio Sarri, meaning his start to the season was naturally slow in terms of involvement. It was in Europe that Giroud excelled most in 2018/19.
