Olivier Giroud reveals he turned down Arsenal reunion at Lorient | OneFootball

Olivier Giroud (38) made a shock return to France this summer. A year after leaving Europe to seemingly finish his career at LAFC, he joined Lille OSC on a free transfer. However, as he has now revealed in an interview with Canal Plus, he could have joined a different French club.

Giroud has revealed that this summer, he also held talks to join FC Lorient, who last season earned promotion back to Ligue 1 from Ligue 2. The move would have entailed a reunion with Laurent Koscielny, now sporting director of Les Merlus, with whom Giroud played not only at Arsenal, but also at Tours FC, and also for the France national team.

“He sounded me out,” revealed Giroud in an interview with Canal Plus. “I was honest with him. I told him that there was a chance the adventure (with LAFC) would end this summer because it didn’t make sense to stay when I wasn’t enjoying myself. So he stepped into the breach. ‘Lolo’ (Koscielny) and I are close,” he continued.

He added that Koscielny presented him a “little project at Lorient” with two wingers and young players around France’s all-time record goal-scorer. However, the chances of making the move to Brittany were dashed when LOSC entered the mix.

“When I had Lille, I had to say, ‘Mate, these are two different projects. You’re promoted and will be playing to stay up, and with Lille, it is something else. They’re playing in Europe and at the top of the table in Ligue 1’. He understood,” added Giroud.

There was therefore no reunion between the pair, who shared the pitch on 256 occasions during their playing career.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle