Chelsea signing Olivier Giroud admits he prayed a lot as he considered leaving Arsenal last month.

Giroud confirmed he sought advice from France coach Didier Deschamps and also God as he agonised over whether to quit the Gunners.

The France striker revealed SFR Sport: "To be transparent with me and vis-à-vis the other players too, Didier Deschamps always told me that my playing time at Arsenal began to worry him a little even if I did the job for Team France.

"The fact that I played less games with Arsenal worried him and he gave me this booster at every rally in Bleus. I told him that I was aware of it but that I wanted to make the right choice and not rush.

"I am a very strong believer and I prayed a lot and ended up having the opportunity to join Chelsea, which for me was the ideal club."