Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud reveals he was approached by Middlesbrough and Celtic before joining the Gunners in the summer of 2012.
The 28-year-old joined Arsenal during the summer transfer window of 2012 for an estimated fee of £12m after scoring 25 goals in his last season at Montpellier.
"Yes, that's true," Giroud told the club's official website.
"Middlesbrough and Celtic [also wanted to sign me]. It was a great team, today they are close to coming back into the English Premier League.
"It will be nice to play against them and it will remind me of my previous years in Tours."
The Gunners will host Aitor Karanka's side in the FA Cup on Sunday after Boro caused a major upset in the previous round, beating Manchester City 2-0 away from home.
And the Frenchman says it will be a tough game at the Emirates.
"If they [Middlesbrough] are here it's because they succeeded in beating a great team like City, so we need to be aware of that," he added.
"We need to play our game straight away from the beginning and not let them take confidence.
"It will be a tough game, especially in the FA Cup. We know that even though a team is playing in an inferior division, they will really want to beat us at home, especially Arsenal.
"We are really cautious and we want to start the game on the front foot.
"Every game is a tough game in the FA Cup. It's always a big fight. We have the spirit because we won it last year, we have more experience maybe and hopefully we will keep this trophy with us."
