Olivier Giroud vs. Olympiakos: Highlights, Reaction to Arsenal Star's Hat-Trick

Olivier Giroud immortalised his name in the hearts of Arsenal fans with a fantastic hat-trick during the UEFA Champions League match against Olympiakos on Wednesday to guarantee the Gunners' spot in the next round.

Per Squawka Football, it was his first ever for the club:

Arsenal needed to beat Olympiakos by any score other than 1-0 or 2-1, and his third goal made it 3-0, meaning the Greeks would have to score at least three more goals to progress from the group. They couldn't manage.

The French striker opened the scoring at the 29-minute mark with a header that Olympiakos goalkeeper Roberto failed to deal with, pushing it against the post and over the goal line.

His second came early in the second half, just minutes after he went down clutching his ankle with an apparent injury. Joel Campbell held off several attackers before sending a lovely ball to Giroud, who calmly slotted home.

He completed his hat-trick with a penalty, which came after a handball from Omar Elabdellaoui. BT Sport Football was kind enough to share the highlights of all three goals:

With Arsenal leading 3-0 after 67 minutes, Olympiakos' chances of completing a comeback looked very slim, and the Gunners' spot in the knockout stages all but secure. Things looked bleak for the Gunners entering the match, but thanks to Giroud's brilliant performance, Arsenal once again survived the group stages.

Even TV personality and notorious Giroud critic Piers Morgan was impressed:

Owen Gibson of the Guardian kept his praise simple:

Former Premier League star Jan Aage Fjortoft joined in:

The Times' Henry Winter even threw in some French:

Finally, his own manager Arsene Wenger called his performance "perfect," via the club's official Twitter account:

Giroud has been in solid form all season long, scoring five goals in the Champions League, per WhoScored.com, but Wednesday's performance was undoubtedly the highlight of his campaign.

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