Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has claimed Boro were interested in signing him as a youngster.
The French striker moved to the Emirates from from Montpellier in 2010 for a hefty £9.6m fee, and he has since gone some way to repaying that sum by banging in 34 goals in 84 games.
Giroud was a surprise omission from Arsenal’s starting line-up against Leicester on Tuesday, and is expected to lead the line in Sunday’s FA Cup fifth round clash with Boro.
But the 28-year-old admitted things could have been very different, with Boro interested in bringing him to Teesside when he was still learning his trade at French club Tours.
Instead he opted to move to Montpellier, and after scoring 33 goals in 73 games for the French side, Arsenal won the race for his signature.
“Yes that’s true, Middlesbrough and Celtic (also wanted to sign me),” he told the club’s website.
“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.”
Olivier Giroud
Giroud could be one of a number of changes to Arsene Wenger’s side, with the Gunners ready to rotate their squad for Sunday’s televised duel.
Wojciech Szczęsny, Gabriel Paulista, Kieran Gibbs, Danny Welbeck and Giroud could all be restored to the starting line-up, while Jack Wilshere could make a shock return following a two-month lay-off.
But Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) will miss the match, joining an injury list already boasting the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Abou Diaby, Mathieu Debuchy and Mikel Arteta.
Boro will be looking to upset another of the Premier League’s giants after dismantling Manchester City in the previous round, and Giroud acknowledges that Arsenal will have to be at their best.
“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 said.
Action Images / Paul Burrows
Middlesbrough's Patrick Bamford celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates
“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.”
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