Mikel Arteta is hoping that Olivier Giroud is not at his best when Arsenal faces Chelsea in the FA Cup final tomorrow afternoon.
The Frenchman moved across town from the Gunners to Stamford Bridge in 2018 after Antonio Conte asked the Blues to sign him.
He has been used mainly as a backup striker for much of his time at the club, however, he has recently earned a place in the first team and has returned the show of faith with important goals.
Ahead of Arsenal’s FA Cup final against the Blues this weekend, Mikel Arteta has spoken about his former teammate.
He hailed the striker for being a “fighter” and for the impressive showings that he has been putting on in recent games.
He, however, admitted that he hopes the striker won’t be in top form against his team on Saturday.
‘It is always good connections when these moments arrive,’ Arteta said on Friday via Metro. ‘With Oli you can see in the last few months how he is performing, the amount of goals he has scored for them.
‘We know him, he has the experience on the finals as well.
‘I’m not surprised, because I know Oli. He is a fighter. Even when he was playing for us and he had some difficult moments, he always reacted.
‘He always works really hard and comparing with the greatest is like always. They’ve done it and they did it for long periods where they were really successful at the club. So any comparison with them is always difficult. I’m glad that he is doing really well, but hopefully tomorrow he won’t do that well.‘
Giroud could easily be the big obstacle that Arsenal need to overcome tomorrow, he is a big game player and in red hot form right now.
