Olivier Giroud says he can’t accept his current role at Chelsea and he believes he won the battle for a starting position against Alvaro Morata and Gonzalo Higuain.

KIEV, UKRAINE - MARCH 14: Olivier Giroud of Chelsea celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Dynamo Kyiv and Chelsea at NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium on March 14, 2019 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
KIEV, UKRAINE – MARCH 14: Olivier Giroud of Chelsea celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Dynamo Kyiv and Chelsea at NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium on March 14, 2019, in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Giroud has made five appearances for Chelsea this season, playing a total of 191 minutes and scoring one goal in the UEFA Super Cup. He’s yet to score in any other competition, and he’s only made one start between the Champions League, the Premier League and the League Cup so far.

Arguably the situation is even worse than that makes it sound, as Giroud has now only appeared in one of Chelsea’s last five squads, and he didn’t come off the bench on that one occasion he was in the 18.

Didier Deschamps continues to pick him for France – of course – and the striker rewarded that faith with a goal against Iceland over the international break. He’s clearly unhappy with how things are going for his club though.

“Accept it? No, I do not accept it,” Giroud said (via Squawka). “I have always been respectful and humble. Even if I do not agree with the coach, I do not criticise him.

“But in myself, I cannot accept it because I know what I’m worth on a pitch. I had competitors in attack – Morata, Higuain – who ended up leaving. I won in the end: I played the final of the FA Cup in 2018 and the Europa League final in 2019.

“Once again, I’m starting the season in difficulty, but as my brother said, I have always grown in the face of adversity. Although I would like there to be less of it!”

It’s certainly not ideal for the striker to have left Arsenal for more minutes just to end up as the third-choice behind Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi.

Abraham is currently the league’s top scorer and Batshuayi has matched Giroud’s goal on international duty with Belgium, so it’s unlikely that’s going to change.