Photo: Chelsea FC

If someone would have thought at the start of the season that Olivier Giroud will be a Chelsea player, that person will definitely have been told to visit a mental hospital.

Well, strange things happen in football and Chelsea signed Giroud on January transfer deadline day.

Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has revealed that a phone call from France national team boss Didier Deschamps to Giroud is what persuaded the frontman to leave the Emirates in order to secure a £15million transfer to Chelsea.

Deschamps had told Giroud that he needs to be playing more first-team football if he’s to have a shot at playing at the World Cup with France having made just one Premier league start for Arsenal this season before a January switch to Chelsea.

“As for Olivier Giroud, who departed as a direct result of Auba signing, I think he made the decision to leave himself,” he told Paddy Power.

“He knows that if he wants to go to the World Cup, he needs to play regularly.

“He spoke with Didier Deschamps over the phone, who told him as much – the France coach will likely only select players who are starting nearly every week.

“I’m certain it was a tough decision for Giroud to make – he really seems to love Arsenal – but that’s the way it is. In football, things move quickly and you need to adapt.”