Olivier Giroud always dreamt of playing in the English Premier League, and after joining Arsenal, the striker hopes to emulate the likes of Gunners legends Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry.
"Even as a young boy, I dreamt of playing in the Premier League," Giroud told FIFA.com. "Remember, there were several big-name French players doing well at Arsenal at the time, guys like Patrick Vieira, Sylvain Wiltord, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, among others, and that made an impression on me.
"I'm very proud to follow in the footsteps of all those 'Frenchies', and I hope to make my mark at the club as well. I really am pleased with my decision to come here."
Giroud has had a sedate start to his Arsenal career, but there have been enough signs to suggest that the French international striker will break his Arsenal duck sooner rather than later. Giroud came in along with other established stars like Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla this summer, as Arsene Wenger looks to move on from the exits of Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas.
"I've been freezing up a little bit just when I've been about to pull the trigger, and that's exactly what happened in my first few matches for France," he said. "I'm not too worried about it, because I've been scoring in training and I feel pretty comfortable being a part of this team.
"I just need to not think about things too much, so that I feel as relaxed as possible when the time comes to stick the ball in the net."
Giroud revealed Wenger played a huge role in bringing the striker to the Emirates, with Chelsea also reportedly showing interest. "He knows me and has confidence in me," Giroud went on. "Generally speaking, the French guys here help you to settle in pretty quickly - there are actually quite a lot of French-speaking players overall.
"There are lots of people you can count on if you need help with something. But you can't let that hold you back in terms of mixing with the others, and that suits me fine as I really want to improve my English and speak fluently, without having to think about what I'm about to say.
"Being at Arsenal will help me with my development, and with a manager like Arsene Wenger in charge, I'm definitely in good hands."
The former Montpellier forward has been impressed by the crowds in the Premier League. "The atmosphere in the stadiums is pretty much what I was expecting; the support from the fans is amazing," he said. "They chant non-stop, and I felt very honoured that they even sang a little song about me when I arrived.
"On top of that, the fans are very knowledgeable. They applaud when you block a clearance, when you drop back to help in defence, or when you put in a strong tackle. It's actually a tremendous way of looking at the game. In terms of the quality of play, the Premier League is, in my eyes, the best league in the world."
Giroud also had kind words to say about Arsenal and international teammate Abou Diaby, who has made a confident comeback from injury this year, both for club and country. "Abou is absolutely essential to how we approach games tactically at Arsenal," Giroud added. "He's an athletic, complete player, extremely effective at winning the ball back, but also at distributing it and driving into opposition territory.
"He's a very important player for the club, but also for France, and he's doing everything he can to leave his injury problems behind him. He's a great professional, and it's reassuring to play alongside him."
