- Title: Arsenal stars look ahead to second half of season
- Date: 16th January 2017
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JANUARY 16, 2017) (REUTERS) PLAYER STRIKING BALL TOWARDS PUNCH BAGS AT SPONSORED EVENT CLOSE OF PLAYER'S FEET AS HE CONTROLS BALL ARSENAL FORWARD OLIVIER GIROUD THROWING BALL TO PARTICIPANT AT EVENT WHO VOLLEYS BALL TOWARDS TARGET GOAL NET / ARSENAL GOALKEEPER PETR CECH (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARSENAL GOALKEEPER PETR CECH, ON FORM OF FORMER CLUB CHELSEA, SAYING: "Well, I think any team that wins 13 games in a row deserves huge credit and obviously this is where they are at the moment full of confidence and they just had a tricky game in the last game after their first defeat after that long run without dropping points and they managed to win it, so their confidence is very high and they obviously have an advantage as well in terms of points but there's still a long way to go in football and everything can go pretty fast if you are ready to take it." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARSENAL FORWARD OLIVIER GIROUD, ON CONTRACT RENEWALS AT CLUB, SAYING: "We hope that the boss will sign a new contract because we all want to keep going with this squad and even the other players, yeah, so it's a nice news for the team, for the club, and from my side obviously it's a good thing (to renew) at the Arsenal and I really want to carry on to win the league and to always improve myself." GIROUD AT EVENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARSENAL FORWARD OLIVIER GIROUD, SAYING: "Well, when I'm not inside the situation, it's quite hard for me to speak about that, so I have no clue and I can't talk too much about that and I don't want (to), that's it." CECH DURING EVENT PLAYERS RUNNING AROUND WITH SOCCER BALLS AT EVENT
- Embargoed: 30th January 2017 22:50
- Keywords: Puma Arsenal Olivier Giroud Petr Cech Premier League
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0015ZBX3R3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Arsenal players' goalkeeper Petr Cech and striker Olivier Giroud looked ahead to the rest of the season as the team seek to finish the season on a strong note in Europe and at home.
Cech praised his former side Chelsea who sit seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, eight points ahead of Arsenal in fourth place.
"Well I think any team that wins 13 games in a row deserves huge credit and obviously this is where they are at the moment full of confidence and they just had a tricky game in the last game after their first defeat after that long run without dropping points and they managed to win it, so their confidence is very high and they obviously have an advantage as well in terms of points but there's still a long way to go in football and everything can go pretty fast if you are ready to take it," he said.
Striker Giroud recently signed a new long-term contract at the club along with other French teammates Laurent Koscielny and Francis Coquelin. Giroud said the players hoped manager Arsene Wenger would soon join them in extending his contract at the club.
"We hope that the boss will sign a new contract because we all want to keep going with this squad and even the other players, yeah, so it's a nice news for the team, for the club, and from my side obviously it's a good thing (to renew) at the Arsenal and I really want to carry on to win the league and to always improve myself," Giroud said.
Giroud refused to be drawn into the controversy surrounding French teammate Dimitri Payet who has recently refused to play for West Ham United as he seeks a move away to another club, despite renewing his contract last year.
"Well, when I'm not inside the situation, it's quite hard for me to speak about that, so I have no clue and I can't talk too much about that and I don't want (to), that's it," Giroud said.
The duo was promoting new soccer boots at a PUMA evoPOWER Vigor 1 launch event. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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