Six of Olivier Giroud's most outrageous goals

To celebrate Olivier Giroud's 36th birthday, Sports Mole picks out six of the AC Milan striker's most outrageous goals.

AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud celebrates his 36th birthday today, giving us the perfect chance to pay tribute to a man who many believe is still one of the world's most underrated strikers.

Arsenal fans from 2015-16 will tell you first-hand how frustrating of a player the towering Frenchman can be - going 15 games without a goal that year - but on his day, he can produce a fantastic array of finishes.

When the ball is played into Giroud at the near post, there is usually just one outcome, and the 36-year-old's aerial presence, ability to turn up the heat in big games and penchant for acrobatic efforts also became a staple of his time at Arsenal and Chelsea.

Giroud is showing no signs of slowing down at AC Milan, already netting four goals in seven Serie A games this term, and here, Sports Mole picks out six of Giroud's most outrageous finishes from his 303 career goals for club and country.

West Ham United - Premier League - 15 April 2014

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The battle for left-footed supremacy at the Emirates Stadium was a fierce one when Giroud and Lukas Podolski both shared the same field, but the former was able to use his right foot equally effectively against West Ham United in April 2014.

After Podolski had cancelled out Matt Jarvis's opener in that Premier League showdown, Giroud latched onto a long ball from Thomas Vermaelen, getting himself in between two West Ham defenders and bringing the ball down expertly with a flick of the left boot.

The Frenchman then unleashed a powerful drive through the legs of Adrian to put Arsenal 2-1 to the good, and Podolski's second of the night would wrap up a 3-1 win for the Gunners before Arsene Wenger hailed Giroud's "great first touch".

Southampton - FA Cup - 22 April 2018

Giroud arrived at Chelsea in 2018 with three FA Cups already on his CV from his time at Arsenal, and his affinity for eye-catching performances in the competition was well and truly alive in the 2017-18 semi-finals.

This time, it was Eden Hazard's turn to control a lofted pass by sticking out a leg and producing a magnificent touch, and Giroud responded by darting into space in the penalty area.

A sea of red and white shirts soon crowded the ex-Montpellier man - no fewer than four Southampton defenders tried to prevent the inevitable, but it was a fruitless endeavour.

Giroud weaved his way in and out of tackles, leaving as many as five players on their backsides, and he managed to poke home into an empty net just before losing his footing to set Chelsea on their way to the FA Cup final.

Sweden - World Cup qualifiers - 9 June 2017

Of Giroud's 49 strikes in senior international matches so far, none has been sweeter than his sumptuous volley against Sweden during qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

The ball found its way to the Frenchman on the left-hand side of the box, and from a seemingly impossible angle, Giroud would take a touch to set himself before unleashing a swerving volley into the far corner.

Robin Olsen could only stand and watch as Giroud put Les Bleus one goal to the good, but even that remarkable effort was outshone by Ola Toivonen's winner from the halfway line in the 94th minute of the contest.

That 2-1 loss would not derail France's qualification bid for the 2018 World Cup, and it turned out alright for Giroud and his compatriots in the end.

Red Star Belgrade - Europa League - 19 October 2017

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Giroud and the Europa League still leaves a sour taste in the mouth of some Arsenal fans given his exploits against his old club in the 2019 final, but he came up with quite the strike for the Gunners against Red Star Belgrade - or Crvena Zvezda - in 2017.

Wenger's team had gone 85 minutes without a goal at the Marakana, but Milan Rodic's red card handed Arsenal the boost that they needed to get the job done, thanks to a wonderful acrobatic effort from Giroud.

After witnessing Jack Wilshere turn away from three Crvena Zvezda shirts in the midfield and dart towards the penalty box, Theo Walcott enjoyed a quick give-and-go with his teammate before heading the ball across the Giroud.

The striker had ostensibly misjudged the flight of the ball, but a magic moment of improvisation saw him flick his left boot up while falling to the ground, and the ball nestled into the top corner of the net to hand Arsenal a 1-0 win.

Atletico Madrid - Champions League - 23 February 2021

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When one thinks of Giroud's time in the Champions League with Chelsea, his four-goal haul against Sevilla typically comes to mind, but his excellent bicycle kick against Atletico Madrid in the 2020-21 campaign will not be forgotten in a hurry.

Diego Simeone's side could not play their 'home' leg at their Wanda Metropolitano fortress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the tie instead taking place in Bucharest, and Giroud lit up the empty Arena Nationala in the 67th minute.

The Blues had managed to keep Atletico at bay before Marcos Alonso sent a ball into the box from the left-hand side, and Mario Hermoso's slice of a clearance set the ball up kindly for Giroud to score a stunning bicycle kick.

The Frenchman's celebrations were briefly paused when the linesman's flag went up - he was in an offside position - but a VAR review showed that the last touch was off Hermoso, and the goal was rightly allowed to stand.

Giroud's goal proved to be the difference before Chelsea completed the job with a 2-0 second-leg win at Stamford Bridge, and he certainly warranted that Champions League winners' medal round his neck come the end of the season.

Crystal Palace - Premier League - 1 January 2017

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New year, same Olivier Giroud. For all of his eye-catching efforts down the years, his scorpion kick versus Crystal Palace is the one that was rewarded with a coveted Puskas prize in 2017.

The Gunners had to withstand a bit of pressure in and around their penalty area before breaking forward, which Giroud was already at the heart of courtesy of a smart flick to Granit Xhaka inside his own half.

Wenger's team continued to surge towards goal down the left-hand side, but Giroud had seemingly gone a little too early to meet Alexis Sanchez's cross. Nope.

The France international managed to stop himself in his tracks and come up with that unparalleled scorpion kick, which crashed off the bar into the back of the net, and several Palace fans were only able to gasp in shock and admiration.

Giroud immediately claimed it was the best goal that he had ever scored. Wenger said he had never seen anything like that from his striker. Gary Lineker and Jamie Carragher were among those to hail the Frenchman's effort as the goal of the season. The Emirates may not see another goal as iconic as that for a very long time.

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