Olivier Giroud insists he knew exactly what he was doing for stunning Arsenal winner in Belgrade: 'I took it overhead and off-balance... it went in'

  • Olivier Giroud scored a stunning winner for Arsenal away at Red Star
  • Giroud twisted his body to fire the ball home following a slick team move
  • The Frenchman has insisted he was fully in control of what he was doing
  • Theo Walcott has posed the question of who has the better beard

Olivier Giroud has insisted he knew exactly what he was doing for his stunning winner which helped Arsenal beat Red Star on Thursday night.

Giroud struck with just six minutes remaining in Belgrade to maintain the Gunners' 100 per cent Europa League record, as he superbly finishing a flowing move including Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott but hooking the ball home with his left foot.

The French striker has previous when it comes to acrobatic finishes, following his 'scorpion' goal against Crystal Palace in January, and insisted he was fully in control of what he was doing despite the unorthodox nature of his finish.  

Theo Walcott provided the assist for Oliver Giroud's stunning winner at Red Star Belgrade

Theo Walcott provided the assist for Oliver Giroud's stunning winner at Red Star Belgrade

The French striker once again showed his acrobatic abilities as he twisted to fire the ball home

The French striker once again showed his acrobatic abilities as he twisted to fire the ball home

'Yes, you know in that position I tried to play with another teammate, but I didn’t see anyone, so I tried to take it overhead and off-balance and it went in the back of the net,' he said, when asked whether he meant to score in the manner in which he did.


'It’s nice for the team and I’m happy for the team because we were resilient until the end. In the end, we kept the lead in the game and we just needed to be patient. 

'It has been very difficult because it was an amazing atmosphere here today. The crowd is behind this team and it was a tough game but we really deserved the three points.'

Giroud insisted he knew exactly what he was doing for the instinctive goal in Belgrade

Giroud insisted he knew exactly what he was doing for the instinctive goal in Belgrade

He may have been top dog for the Gunners on Thursday night, but he has a challenger from within when it comes to his trademark beard.

Team-mate Theo Walcott, whose header provided Giroud with the final assist for his goal, took to Instagram on Friday to question which of the two has the better facial hair.

The answer to this question is a unanimous victory for Giroud. Sorry, Theo. 

Giroud has done it before, of course, with his 'scorpion' goal against Crystal Palace in January