Olivier Giroud feels vindicated in leaving Arsenal for Chelsea after starting against Barcelona

Olivier Giroud got a beating in more ways than one at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. As well as Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Barcelona, there was the black eye he ended up wearing. Giroud described that as “part of the job”, and it’s a job he insists he’s starting to more deeply understand despite the defeat.

Manager Antonio Conte is more specific than most managers with the requirements of his front man, and Giroud says he is still adapting, but feels the fact he started such a big game “definitely” proves it was right to move from Arsenal to Chelsea in January.

“I am settling in quite well,” Giroud said. “I am very pleased with my understanding with the boys. Not everything is perfect but I am trying to be the target man that the boss is asking me to be. He wants me to be a link with the number 10, tonight it was Eden [Hazard] and Willy [Willian]. It’s not easy to join a new club in the winter but I am trying to adapt as quick as I can.

“There is always room for improvement but I am happy with what I am doing on the pitch. We have a good team cohesion and I think if we play with this spirit like tonight we hope that good things can happen towards the end of the championship.”

Asked whether it would mean Chelsea won’t see the best of Giroud until next season, he said: “No, no, I want to be at my best level now. I work hard in training to be ready. Sometimes you close your eyes and score but sometimes the goal seems to get smaller like in the other game. But trust me I keep working hard and do my best to reach my target. You can count on me to do my best to be at me best level as soon as I can.

“I feel very good. I try to what the boss asked me to do on the pitch. We are all the same. If I play I try to give my best for the team. It’s not up to me to talk about tactics but I feel very good on the pitch and I hope I have the opportunity to help the team reach our targets. Top four is the main target and we have FA Cup as well.”

Giroud also said Chelsea could be proud of their performance against Barcelona, because the scale of the defeat was really just down to Leo Messi.

“We played our game. We wanted to play that way and we have to be proud of what we have done even if we are not happy with the result and have obviously not qualified. We have done some very good things. When you hit the post four times against Barcelona then it’s too much. You need a bit of luck.

“You need something yeah? Even more when you are two down and you don’t get a penalty that was obvious for me and obvious for everyone. So yeah it’s very frustrating because we felt like we could have done it but at the end of the day they have a player which is very efficient and it’s very hard to play against him. Three goals and one assist in two games so it’s tough.”