| General |
| Gilles Grimandi | ||
| ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name: | Gilles Grimandi | |
| Date of birth: | 11 November 1970 | |
| Place of birth: | Gap, Hautes-Alpes,  France
| |
| Height: | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |
| Playing position: | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club |  Arsenal (scout)
| |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1987–1988 | Gap
| |
| Senior clubs | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls) |
| 1988–1991 1991–1997 1997–2002 2003 Total |
Gap Monaco Arsenal Colorado Rapids |
67 (3) 113 (10) 0 (0) 180 (13) |
Gilles Grimandi (born 11 November 1970) is a retired French footballer who currently is a scout for Arsenal.
In his playing career, he went from hometown team Gap to top-flight Monaco before arriving at Arsenal of the Premier League in 1997. He won two league-and-cup doubles with them before leaving in 2002.
Club career[]
Grimandi began his professional career with AS Monaco in 1990 and made his first-team debut in 1991 against AS Nancy in the French top division. His career briefly interrupted by French military service, he went on to make 67 appearances and score three goals for the club, mostly as a centre back. He helped the club reach both a UEFA Champions League and a UEFA Cup semifinal and won the league title in 1996–97.
The following season, Grimandi left to join his former manager Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, making his debut in Elland Road against Leeds United, and helped achieve The Double in his first season. He made 113 league appearances as a midfielder, centre back, and right wingback, winning a second Double in his final season (2001–02) with the club.
Grimandi signed with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer on 8 January 2003, after turning down an offer from Middlesbrough. Grimandi was the first Frenchman to sign for MLS, and played a pre-season friendly against Santos Laguna of Mexico on 12 March. On 30 April he quit the club for family reasons to return to France. The Rapids' management described themselves as "deeply saddened" by his decision.
Later career[]
Grimandi has remained active in the sport, taking his first administrative position in 2004 as football director at ASOA Valence in the Championnats National (the French third division), and becoming a France-based scout for Arsenal after Valence filed for bankruptcy prior to the 2005–06 season. The whole experience left Grimandi reflecting as to whether he had a career in scouting. He also took part in Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial game at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium in July 2006, making a controversial tackle on Edgar Davids as the Dutchman looked to tap into an empty net to open the scoring for Ajax.
Grimandi was linked with a director of football position at Arsenal in July 2007, in charge of acquiring new players. However, no appointment to the role was made. Grimandi is currently Arsenal's chief scout in France.
Honours[]
- Monaco
- Ligue 1: 1996–97
- Arsenal
- Premier League: 1997–98, 2001–02
- FA Cup: 1998, 2002
- FA Community Shield: 1998, 1999, 2002
