Seemingly an indisputable starter with France under Didier Deschamps, the same cannot be said for Olivier Giroud at Arsenal.
Spending most of the season watching Alexis Sanchez lead the Gunners’ frontline from the bench, the 30-year-old striker had to make do with the odd appearance here and there to try and prove himself, and prove himself he did.
Scoring a goal every 100 minutes in the Premier League, the striker scored 12 goals in 11 starts this season, as well as picking up four assists.
Still, that isn’t enough for the player, who seems insistent on staying at the Emirates next season despite reported interest from Olympique de Marseille, the club he liked when he was a kid.
He told Le Figaro: “I’m flattered by their interest. It’s nice to be wanted by French clubs, but I want to win the Premier League with Arsenal, therefore I don’t see myself leaving England this summer.”
However, there is one thing he wants, and that’s more game time, explaining the situation when asked by the newspaper if there was one thing he could ask Arsène Wenger, what would it be?
He said: “More game time next year! I say that jokingly of course. Seriously, though, this season was delicate. I’ve got good stats despite my limited game time. In the Premier League, I have the second game time:goal ratio behind Harry Kane who scored 29 goals.
“It makes you think. If I’d played more, I maybe could’ve scored more goals than him. I hope to get more time for Arsenal next year. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, one of transition. I hope. I don’t want to live that again. Despite it being difficult, I never let go.”
Scoring a hat-trick against Paraguay in a friendly last week, Giroud clearly knows where the goal is, but it remains to be seen whether he still has the full trust of Arsène Wenger.
Alexis Sanchez’s future at Arsenal, expected to be resolved this summer, could play a key part in whether the France international gets the game time he hopes for next year.
