It takes a brave man to admit wanting to sign for a club’s fiercest rivals, but that’s exactly what Olivier Giroud has done.
The Chelsea striker, and former Arsenal front man, has made it known that he came perilously close to signing for the Gunners’ north London neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur.
His desire to leave the Blues at the start of the year apparently saw him consider the switch but, as it turned out, he stayed at Stamford Bridge where he continued to flourish.
“During the last three days of the transfer window, I was in the coach’s office to find a solution. I was hoping Chelsea would find a replacement for me,” he told SoFoot, cited by the Daily Star.
“For my part, it was not the solutions that were lacking: I almost signed for Lazio, Inter… I was even so determined to leave that I even almost signed for Tottenham!”
The issue appeared to revolve around a lack of playing time, but things did turn for the Frenchman in the latter stages of the season.
Now of course, he finds himself playing second fiddle again to the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.
If Frank Lampard doesn’t afford Giroud the minutes he desires in 2020/21, we will likely be looking at another potential winter transfer market exit.
Arsenal supporters can rest easy though, as Tottenham will almost certainly not be on the cards by that point.