Giroud – We were so good against Olympiacos

Arsenal’s hat-trick hero Olivier Giroud spoke to the media after his side’s 3-0 win against Olympiacos, a victory that was enough to see them qualify for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

The Gunners went into the game knowing that any victory other than by a 1-0 or 2-1 scoreline would be enough to see them progress to the next round, and the nerves of the fans were obvious in the buildup.

They needn’t have been.

Arsenal went to Greece and put in an amazing performance, one that Arsene Wenger said was one of the best his side have ever put on in Europe.

Giroud was the key man for the Gunners, and said that the win, and the resulting qualification, made him very happy indeed.

It is fantastic for me. We are happy with this result tonight. We missed the chance two or three years ago and also this year in Monaco so it is nice to go through the group stage as we were not in a good position. Finally, we have done it for the fans and I feel very nice.

Giroud was, somewhat strangely, asked if he expected to score a hat-trick in the game. An odd question for any player, but especially for one who had never scored three times in a game for the club.

To be honest, I just tried to play well and I have confidence so it was an opportunity for myself tonight. It was a nice feeling to score a hat-trick, even more because it was an important one. The first goal was a good ball from Aaron. Sometimes I like to step back from the box. The second one was a good assist from Joel and he did really well. The last one was a penalty so we are really pleased to win tonight and go through to the next stage. We will focus on the Champions League and we are going to focus on the Premier League.

The French striker also spoke about the performance of the team, and admitted that the performance of the defence was equally as important as his hat-trick.

It is a great feeling because it was not easy for us in this group. Because of the first games we were not in an easy position and we have shown tonight our strength. Finally, we need to carry on being efficient at the back, we feel really good tonight because we have qualified for the next round.