Giroud returns to Emirates at 40 to face Arsenal and old teammate Arteta in Champions League

Olivier Giroud will return to the Emirates Stadium with Lille to face Arsenal in the Champions League, the 40-year-old striker describing the occasion as ‘a blessing’ and saying he feels ‘very lucky’ to be back at the ground where he spent nearly six years of his career.

Giroud scored 105 goals for Arsenal under Arsène Wenger before leaving for Chelsea in January 2018, a move he has since acknowledged was driven by the need for regular playing time ahead of that summer’s World Cup with France. He went on to win the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, then moved to AC Milan before a brief spell with Los Angeles FC in MLS. He returned to France last year when he joined Lille.

“Arsenal was a major part of my career and I had to leave in order to play at the 2018 World Cup,” Giroud said. “I was really sad when I left the club but I had to make that choice, and it was one of the toughest ones in my career, but it was important and necessary for the rest of my career. So, it is great to come back at 40 years old with a French club and to play against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. That is a blessing. It is something I wanted to happen, and I feel very lucky.”

The reunion carries an added personal dimension for Giroud, who played alongside Arteta during his time at Arsenal and says the Spaniard’s leadership qualities made a managerial career inevitable. Arteta has since guided the Gunners to their first league title in 22 years — though the source article notes the title ‘eluded’ Giroud and his teammates during their time together — and recently signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until 2030.

“Mikel is a great person, a great manager and he has shown that with the team he has built,” Giroud said. “The Premier League title proves he has done incredible work, and he was given the time which was very important. I remember Mikel as a player, and you could see he was made for a managerial career because he was a leader on the pitch, but off it, too. He was very demanding with himself, and his team-mates and great technically. I really enjoyed my time with him. We won a few trophies together and it is a blessing to come back here and play against his team.”

Giroud won three FA Cups during his time with the Gunners. This Champions League fixture represents Arsenal’s first European outing since the international break.