Giroud: French lower leagues made me tougher

Olivier Giroud believes spending time playing in the lower divisions in France helped mould him into a tougher player at Arsenal.

The striker featured in the second and third tiers for Grenoble, Istres and Tours, before stepping up with Montpellier in 2010 and going on to become Ligue 1 top scorer in 2011-12 as the club won the title.

The 29-year-old thinks having to work his way up in European football, rather than graduating from France's famed Clairefontaine academy like many of his international team-mates, has made him more resilient.

"I definitely feel tougher because the beginning of my career was different to than if I played for Marseille, PSG or Lyon," Giroud told Arsenal's official website.