Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has told his teammates that they must start Sundays match at a high-tempo or risk an FA Cup shock.
The Gunners take on an upbeat Middlesbrough team fresh off a stunning upset against Manchester City beating the Sky Blues 2-0, and Giroud wants to make certain that he and the team are not in for a similar tide of events.
“If they are here it’s because they succeeded in beating a great team like City, so we need to be aware of that,” Giroud told Arsenal Player. “We need to play our game straight away from the beginning and not let them take confidence.
“It will be a tough game, especially in the FA Cup. We know that even though a team is playing in an inferior division, they will really want to beat us at home, especially Arsenal. We are really cautious and we want to start the game on the front foot.
“Every game is a tough game in the FA Cup. It’s always a big fight. We have the spirit because we won it last year, we have more experience maybe and hopefully we will keep this trophy with us.”
Giroud has been at Arsenal for a little under three years, but before that he nearly became a Boro player.
“Yes, that’s true,” smiled Giroud. “Middlesbrough and Celtic [also wanted to sign me]. It was a great team… today they are close to coming back into the English Premier League. It will be nice to play against them and it will remind me of my previous years in Tours.”
