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Giroud - We wanted to pay Paris tribute

Olivier Giroud says the France team were determined to play England on Tuesday night to pay tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks.

The Arsenal striker was at the Stade de France last Friday when terrorists targeted the French capital. Giroud was shocked by the events and found France's visit to Wembley four days later a deeply emotional moment.

"With the national anthem, the French flags and with the English players it was a very emotional moment"

Olivier Giroud

“We heard the bombs during the game [in Paris] but I could say that it was not like a normal noise,” he told Arsenal Player. “You could hear these sometimes in stadiums so it was very bizarre but we kept focused on the game.

“It was only at the end of the game that we understood that we had been attacked by terrorists, by looking on the screens and social media. It's really sad what happened and I have no words for that.

“We felt very concerned about what happened and we wanted to pay tribute to them [against England]. It was a game that French people would watch and we wanted them to be proud of us for the victims.

“We wanted to be united, to be one around this game and pay tribute to the victims with the national anthem, the French flags and with the English players it was a very emotional moment.

“We could see French flags around other sports and we felt like we had support, especially in Wembley. They played the national anthem on the screen with a French flag so it was a very big emotional moment for us.”

 

France and England unite at Wembley

France and England unite at Wembley

 

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