Mauricio Pochettino used to hate one player during his time at Tottenham

Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has heaped praise on the French international striker Olivier Giroud.

The experienced striker recently became the all-time top scorer for France overtaking the Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

Pochettino has revealed that he used to hate coming up against the France international during his time at Tottenham.

Giroud has played against Tottenham during his time at Arsenal and Chelsea. Pochettino claims that the towering centre-forward caused all sorts of problems for his centre-backs with his intelligence, movement, and linkup play.

He said to BBC: “I always hate Giroud because of Arsenal, not Chelsea. He was a player that you always faced and he is capable of everything. It’s a massive achievement.

“He’s a player, as a centre-back, that you hate because he’s a killer and inside the box, it’s difficult because he’s big, clever, very good movement and so smart.”

Apart from his finishing ability, Giroud was excellent at bringing others into the play, and his aerial prowess allowed his teams to use him as a target man as well.

Giroud has a relatively impressive record against Tottenham and he is unbeaten in 11 of the 18 matches he has played against the London club. Furthermore, he has four goals and an assist to his name against Spurs as well.