Olivier Giroud explains why he threw his shirt into the crowd too soon

Arsenal's Olivier Giroud throws his shirt into the crowd with the score 4-4 even though extra time is still to be played. He had to ask for it back and returned it after extra time. Picture: David Davies/PA Wire

By Tom Moore Thursday, November 1, 2012
7:20 AM

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud admitted that he had thought that the Capital One Cup clash at Reading was going to go to a replay as he threw his shirt into the crowd at the end of the 90 minutes.

The fans were then asked to return his shirt so that he could carry on playing, which they duly did.

He explained: “I thought that when you draw you restart the game at home. Someone said that to me so I gave my shirt to the fans.

“The fans gave me my shirt back so I could carry on. I returned the shirt to them [after the game]. I don’t know if the same guy got the shirt though.”