Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has explained why he chose to leave the Emirates Stadium to take up a 'new challenge' with Chelsea.
The French striker spent five-and-a-half years at Arsenal before making the switch to Stamford Bridge in January 2018, although he admits that leaving the club was not his first wish.
"I didn't want to leave," Giroud told the BBC .
"I spoke with the boss - at this time, Arsene [Wenger] - and I told him: 'Look, gaffer, I need some game time to play at the World Cup, that's massive for me.'
"At the end of the day, we won it, so it was very important for me to leave.
"It was tough for me, but it was amazing to sign for a club like Chelsea. It was like an improvement for me because - OK, it's Manchester City now - but Chelsea have been the best club in England over the past 10 years.
"It was a new challenge with big motivation, big targets."
Arsenal fans have recently made their feelings towards owner Stan Kroenke known, with an online protest calling for a change in the way the club is operated.
"I can understand the fans." Giroud said of the protests.
"With Arsenal it was difficult to fight for the title. We were always fighting for the Champions League places.
"I won a few FA Cups and Community Shields. When you can't win the league, winning the FA Cup is quite nice, so I've got amazing memories.
"Chelsea is a club where you have maybe more expectations, higher expectations. They were winning more titles these past 10 years and obviously Arsenal wants to come back to the 'Invincibles' days, but it's not easy.
"I'm not going to say we are doing things better at Chelsea. We just try to be as competitive as we can, to step up and win more trophies."
Arsenal's last Premier League title came in that invincible season of 2003/04, meaning that the fans have not seen their club lift the ultimate prize in English football for over a decade, and Giroud has admitted that the mental strength of the players may be a factor in Arsenal's failure to make the step up again.
"Maybe," he answered
"In football, for me, it's two-thirds of the quality you need to have. I've seen so many talented players - but without mental strength they can't step up and get out of their comfort zone. Mental strength is massive in football and sport in general."
