Olivier Giroud has insisted he cannot accept his current situation at Chelsea but refuses to be ‘fatalistic’ about it.
The Frenchman finds himself playing a substitute role at Stamford Bridge again this season, with Frank Lampard preferring Tammy Abraham as his first-choice striker.
The youngster is currently Chelsea’s top goalscorer with nine goals in all competitions, meaning Giroud has been forced to sit on the sidelines.
He’s managed just five appearances so far this season, although only two of them have been in the starting eleven.
Giroud is yet to complain publicly, although he insists that is not him accepting his new role at Chelsea.
“Accept it? No, I do not accept it,” he told Le Pèlerin.
“You do not have to be fatalistic in certain situations. I have always been respectful and humble. Even if I do not agree with the coach, I do not criticise him.
“But in myself, I cannot accept it because I know what I’m worth on a pitch. Last year, when I felt that I deserved to play, I asked the coach for explanations.”
The situation is not a new one to Giroud, with the striker having found himself in similar circumstances during his time at Arsenal.
Despite being a regular goalscorer for the Gunners, Giroud often found himself sitting on the bench at the Emirates.
It was that which led him to make a move to Chelsea in January 2018, a decision that the Frenchman admits was not easy to make.
“It was not easy to leave Arsenal for Chelsea two years ago. I loved Arsenal,” he added.
“But it was a progression because Chelsea is the English club that has won the most titles, with Manchester City, in ten years.
“I had competitors in attack – Morata, Higuain, who ended up leaving. I won at the end: I played the final of the FA Cup in 2018 and the European Cup final in 2019.
“Once again, I’m starting the year in difficulty, but as my brother said, I have always built myself in the face of adversity. Although I would like there to be less!”
