OLIVIER GIROUD: OUR FOCUS

Olivier Giroud has joined the Rossoneri. The Frenchman, who was born on 30 September 1986 in Chambéry in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, leaves the Premier League after nine years in England. He is now ready to embark upon a new adventure in an AC Milan shirt, bringing class and experience to a young and hungry group.

Olivier has been with Chelsea for the past three and a half seasons, the club he joined after a five and a half year spell (July 2012 to January 2018) with Arsenal. In total for both London clubs, he scored 90 goals in 255 Premier League appearances and provided 32 assists. His contribution in European club competitions is noteworthy too: 44 appearances, 19 goals and six assists in the Champions League (including qualifiers) and 15 goals and five assists in 22 Europa League outings, a competition that he won in 2018/19 with Chelsea, finishing that season as the competition's top goalscorer with eleven. His trophy cabinet is worthy of respect: a Ligue 1 title in 2011/12 with surprise package Montpellier, four FA Cups and three Community Shields, one Champions League, one Europa League and just the small matter of the World Cup in 2018 with France. Furthermore, Giroud won the coveted Puskas Award in 2017 for a sublime backheeled scorpion kick against Crystal Palace.

Giroud is a reliable striker with a cultured left foot and is known for his grace and power. As a boy, he took inspiration from Shevchenko and Ibra. He has now emerged as a real team player, one that is able to communicate well with teammates and, at the same time, proving lethal in front of goal. He is often decisive with a penchant for the spectacular, as was shown with his acrobatic bicycle kick in the Champions League against Atlético de Madrid at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. He also shone in the group stage, scoring four in the away match against Sevilla. 

Throughout the years, Olivier has become a key figure for France, first under Laurent Blanc and then Didier Deschamps. The new AC Milan man has been capped 110 times for his country, scoring 46 goals and providing 13 assists. Now, he's at AC Milan and is ready for a new stage in a career, which has been replete with goals and titles. 

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