Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 6y

Chelsea's Olivier Giroud thanks Arsene Wenger for Premier League chance

Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud thanked former boss Arsene Wenger, telling SFR Sport he believes his fellow Frenchman will stay in the game after leaving Arsenal this summer.

Arsenal fans honoured Wenger for his 22 years at the club on Sunday as their team's 5-0 win over Burnley marked his final home game in charge.

Giroud, who scored in Chelsea's 1-0 victory against Liverpool, left Arsenal in January having fallen behind Alexandre Lacazette in the pecking order before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived from Borussia Dortmund, but he remains thankful to Wenger for signing him from Montpellier in 2012.

"Everyone knows how much I owe him for having given me the opportunity to fulfil my childhood dream," Giroud said. "It wasn't all easy, but he was always there and he has always supported me. At the end, we were a bit disappointed to be leaving one another, but it was just the way life wants it to be.

"It's bizarre to not see him at Arsenal anymore, but I think he'll go somewhere else, because he wants to continue. I have a lot of respect for what he has contributed to Arsenal, and he's going to leave a huge void behind him. It's the end of an era."

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