The Frenchman could have been rocking up with Boro at the Emirates this weekend…
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has said that Middlesbrough came close to signing him as a youngster ahead of the two side’s FA Cup clash this weekend.
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Giroud is expected to lead the line in the fifth round tie at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, but has revealed things could have turned out a lot differently if he had chosen to sign for Boro in 2010.
“Middlesbrough and Celtic [also wanted to sign me],” he told the official Arsenal website.
“It was a great team… today they are close to coming back into the English Premier League. It will be nice to play against them and it will remind me of my previous years in Tours.”
The Frenchman opted to sign for Ligue 1 side Montpellier instead of Boro where he managed a not too shabby 33 goals in 73 games.
His success there led to his move to North London in 2012, where he has since continued improving scoring 34 in 84 games.
The Gunners should be confident of securing a quarter final birth but will be wary of the potential upset given Boro beat Manchester City 2-0 in the previous round.
Arsenal have also dropped out of the competition at this stage in two of the last three seasons, losing to Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers in 2012 and Sunderland the year before.