LILLE’S trip to Arsenal on Tuesday night will see a famous face returning to the Emirates.
The Gunners spent £64million to sign striker Viktor Gyokeres last summer, but Mikel Arteta would rather play Kai Havertz as a makeshift forward this season.
So it only seems fitting that ex-Arsenal hitman Olivier Giroud will go up against his former employers at a time when they need some firepower.
Giroud is in his final season as a footballer and can give Arsenal a reminder of why he was such a threat during his time in north London.
The Frenchman, 40, should be fondly remembered by the Arsenal faithful after netting more than a century of goals for the team.
He wasn’t universally loved by fans, but his goals proved to be crucial.
During his six seasons with Arsenal, the team had an 82 per cent win rate when he scored or assisted.
He also won three FA Cup trophies for the Gunners and either scored or assisted in each of those finals.
Some might have thought his best days were behind him when he left in 2018 aged 31 – but nine years later he’s managed to remain at the highest level.
Giroud continued to be an asset for the likes of Chelsea and AC Milan before a brief stint in the MLS.
Now he’s bracing for one last dance back in France with Lille and managed 11 goals last season.
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He has already announced he will retire next summer but is still producing the goods at his tender age.
This season Giroud has one goal and two assists – which both came against champions Paris Saint-Germain – from his first six Ligue 1 games.
His durable nature and consistency are just two of the reasons why he’s been capped 137 times by France.
And he’s their second-highest top scorer of all time with 57 goals, only second to Kylian Mbappe.
So even after entering his forties, Giroud’s threat should not be scoffed at by fans when they welcome him back to the Emirates.
He’s already come back to haunt Arsenal once in a pivotal moment.
In 2019, he netted the opening goal of Chelsea’s 4-1 Europa League final win over his old team.
And he appeared to enjoy it too after he was heard shouting “thank you, Arsenal” in a viral clip while holding the trophy on the team bus.
You would imagine he would take just as much pleasure from putting another one past them to cap off his last hurrah in football.
Arsenal could certainly do with a physical presence who can hurt teams, as he was for Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery for so many years.
Gyokeres can’t seem to buy minutes for Arteta after failing to start a game and managing just three substitute appearances from their opening six matches.
There doesn’t seem to be a problem while playing for Sweden, with whom he scored four goals on the spin over the international break.
But that hasn’t stopped Arteta from sticking by Kai Havertz up front, even though the German is not a natural No 9.
Havertz started the season with a goal in the Community Shield before bagging two Premier League strikes in his opening three matches.
But they have now dried up, with Bukayo Saka leading the scoring charts at present.
It’s hard to believe Gyokeres was Arsenal’s leading marksman last season with 21 strikes.
The Swede is a proven goalscorer and is certain to come good again – even if that might be with a different club.
Giroud knows all about being written off after being once told by his old Grenoble boss Mehmed Bazdarevic that he was not even Ligue 2 level.
And no one should dismiss him on Tuesday night either.