Mauricio Pochettino has explained why he hates former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud.
Giroud opened the scoring for France in their 3-1 win over Poland which saw them advance into the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
The former Arsenal and Chelsea forward became France’s highest-ever goalscorer, taking over from Thierry Henry.
Giroud will undoubtedly go down as one of the most underrated strikers in football history, and Pochettino has stated how he has always hated the striker due to his performances against him whilst he was in charge of Tottenham.
“Always I hate Giroud in the past because of Arsenal and Chelsea. He was a player you face and you know was capable of everything. It’s massive. It’s a player, we as centre-backs hated because he’s a killer, inside the box it’s difficult because he’s big, clever – so smart,” said Pochettino, speaking to BBC as relayed by the Express.
With Karim Benzema out injured, many questioned whether Giroud is an adequate enough replacement, but he’s certainly proved he is so far this World Cup.
Giroud offers something a little different to Benzema due to his physicality, which has allowed France to get the best out of Kylian Mbappe so far this tournament. Mbappe has scored five goals already this tournament, with potentially three games remaining.