He arrived in London in red and now he is leaving in blue. As foreign imports to the Premier League go, few have had the same impact as Olivier Giroud.
The 34-year-old has brought the curtain down on his three-and-a-half-year spell with Chelsea after agreeing a £2.6m transfer to AC Milan.
It means that after nine years in England and several near-departures, the French striker is finally bidding ‘au revoir’ to the Premier League, taking the Rossoneri's No.9 shirt.
On his way out of the Stamford Bridge exit door, the very least he deserves is some respect on his name. The same respect his team-mates has given him but, for whatever reason, supporters and pundits have neglected to.
A glance at Giroud’s Wikipedia page suggests he is one of the most “underrated footballers of all time”. Such a statement is somewhat hyperbolic, but on the right lines.
Giroud has maintained that as long his goal record speaks for itself he is unbothered by such labels: “It doesn’t matter who you are, everybody gets disrespected,” he told told Stadium Astro.
“There is nobody who will be praised by everybody. You know it is part football, part of the game.
“Sometimes people want other players to play. I understand that with that experience and I’m okay with that.
“Maybe sometimes I am underrated but the most important thing is the numbers. For a striker that is what matters.”
The numbers certainly do him justice. The Chelsea striker has scored 90 Premier League goals in his nine seasons in the Premier League and during that time, became France’s second-highest all-time goalscorer with 46 goals.
Yet when people list the best strikers in the world and over the past decade, Giroud doesn’t get a mention.
During France’s World Cup triumph in 2018, their star-studded squad dominated everyone who came across them. Kylian Mbappe, N’Golo Kante and Antoine Griezmann were outstanding. The records will show Giroud played in every match on their run to the final and failed to score. But those watching would have seen his value.
Used almost as a brick wall to rebound the ball off, the towering striker would front himself as a shield to block off defenders as Mbappe and Griezmann played one-twos off him. Without his contributions, France might have never become champions.
Indeed, as their Euro 2020 challenge was smashed to smithereens by Switzerland, Giroud had hardly featured following the return of Karim Benzema to the squad. The harmony that had existed three years ago had departed when Giroud was shifted onto the bench.
Even at club level over the last decade, he worked tirelessly to earn his place. Giroud joined Arsenal in 2012 from Montpellier, having starred in the Ligue 1’s outfit stunning title success with 21 goals to his name.
His signing came as a relief after Robin van Persie’s controversial departure the season prior. It was his performances that caught the eye of Arsene Wenger and convince the north London outfit to shell out £13million for his signature.
Inevitably, he found the jump in the level of football tough to adapt to and managed only 11 league goals in his first season at the Emirates Stadium.
But eventually he found his rhythm and the highlights reel alone made Giroud a joy to observe from the stands — a sensational scorpion kick against Crystal Palace in January 2017 one of the many wondrous strikes he pulled off.
Of course, when Arsenal signed Alexandre Lacazette and then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to add to their strikeforce in 2017-18, it became abundantly clear that his days were numbered.
He headed to Chelsea in a £18m deal, with Antonio Conte delighted to find a striker who could provide competition to Alvaro Morata. The move was unpopular with Arsenal fans, who clearly felt he had much more to offer.
His move would prove to be Chelsea’s gain and Arsenal’s regret, as the target man played a key role in helping the Blues win the FA Cup in May 2018.
But there was always a feeling that Chelsea were looking for something more, a bigger name.
New manager Maurizio Sarri decided to bring in Gonzalo Higuain on loan when Giroud was battling with Morata for first-team places. When the Argentinian arrived, he was confined to the bench.
The problem for Giroud was that he lacked that egotistical trait which would convince players they should be demanding for more regular football, rather than earning it.
But the Blues’ Europa League campaign in 2018-19 offered Giroud a chance to show the Italian head coach what he could do and his performances did not go unnoticed.
On route to the final in Baku, Giroud had bagged 10 goals and looked a firm favourite to exact revenge on his former club Arsenal. Sure enough, after being rewarded with a start, he repaid Sarri’s faith with a fine header to open the scoring as Chelsea romped to a 4-1 win.
In the space of 15 months, he had won two trophies — nearly as many as his in his six-year spell with Arsenal. When Frank Lampard replaced Sarri in the summer, Giroud was forced to play second fiddle to Tammy Abraham.
But instead of venting in public about his lack of playing time, the striker spoke to Lampard and asked if he could move for the sake of his international career. Lampard, who admitted he was taken aback by his “professionalism”, gave the green light only for moves to Inter Milan and Lazio fell through.
It was even believed Jose Mourinho, in charge of Tottenham at the time, had tried to snatch Giroud on loan. Chelsea failed to find a replacement, however, and he stayed put.
How glad they were that he stuck around.
Even if Thomas Tuchel’s tactics are credited for the main role in their stunning Champions League triumph last season, Giroud played a lead role with six goals.
He became only the second player to score four goals in an away fixture in the competition, notching all four goals in the 4-0 win over Sevilla in the group stage. It was also his incredible overhead kick that gave Chelsea a priceless 1-0 away victory against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano in the last-16 knockout round.
Even if, substitute appearances and starts in cup competitions arrived more frequently than league starts, Tuchel understood Giroud’s value, especially late in games when the Blues needed a focal point in attack.
Popular with his team-mates, adored by the fans and a useful option from the bench, it is difficult to see how Chelsea benefit from selling the striker. But with 39 goals in 119 appearances, he has fulfilled his service and deserves a final crack at regular football, as the Blues chase a long-term replacement in Erling Haaland.
As Giroud prepares for what could be the last move of his career to Italy, it may be that he has to fight for a spot in Milan’s frontline, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rafael Leao and Ante Rebic all battling for a place.
But this time he arrives with a reputation and an admirable goal record. He will wait his turn for playing time, just don’t undervalue him.
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