‘Courageous’ Arsenal never gave up, says Giroud
LONDON: Olivier Giroud insisted Arsenal never gave up hope of staging a dramatic fightback as the France striker’s late winner capped a thrilling 4-3 victory over Leicester in Friday’s Premier League opener.
Arsene Wenger’s side were seven minutes away from a miserable start to the new campaign after falling 3-2 behind at the Emirates Stadium.
Club record signing Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal an early lead on his league debut before Shinji Okazaki and Jamie Vardy put Leicester ahead.
Danny Welbeck levelled for Arsenal, but Vardy’s second goal looked to have won it for Leicester until the sensational finale.
Aaron Ramsey equalised in the 83rd minute and two minutes later substitute Giroud rose highest to head home via the woodwork.
It was an incredible escape act from Arsenal, but Giroud claimed his team, who dominated possession and peppered the Leicester goal, never doubted they would hit back.
“Obviously I knew that I was going to have a chance so we tried to push,” Giroud said.
“We kept the faith and kept believing in our game to push hard. We’ve been courageous to the end and thank God we won the game.”
After enduring a troubled campaign marred by fan protests against him last season, Wenger desperately needs a strong start this term.
The Frenchman admitted he was relieved Arsenal managed to avoid an embarrassing opening day defeat. — AFP