Giroud scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal in a must-win situation in Greece against Olympiacos. The Greek were three points clear ahead of Arsenal and were holding on to the second place of the group behind Bayern Munich. Giroud and Arsenal left no chance and grabbed the win they needed to pass their opponent and clinches the group’s second place.
Oliver Giroud comments on his performance:
On qualifying…
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 thorough the group stage as we were not in a good position. Finally we have done it for the fans and I feel very nice.
on if he expected to score a hat-trick…
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.
on his performance…
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.
on if it was his best performance at Arsenal…
Maybe, because I scored three goals. I worked hard for the team and I had the feeling before the game that I would have the chance to score. We have succeeded to complete another clean sheet and it is good for the confidence for the weekend.
on how it feels…
We feel really pleased tonight, we had a celebration all together after the game. It has been a few years and we miss it. We really wanted to focus on the group stages so we bounced back and we have great team spirit and confidence.
on his first hat-trick…
It is quite an important one. It is my first one and I was waiting for that for a long time. I felt the team worked very well as a unit, so we are really pleased with each other.
Finishing second is, though, never an easy task and Arsenal could draw Real Madrid or Barcelona in the Round of 16. Hopes are hight and we will be focuses on the draw coming soon…
