Now that the season has properly started (we’ve already reached the first international break, much to our distaste), fans are expecting all of their players to be fully fit.
That, however, was not the case for Olivier Giroud, who only had a few minutes of professional football under his belt before joining up with the France squad.
The Arsenal striker still scored against Italy in their friendly on Thursday, and he gave an interview to Le Parisien on Monday explaining why his fitness levels aren’t the best still.
He said: “It’s down to my lack of training since I got back from holiday. If it had been a priority, the manager would have asked me to come back sooner. That wasn’t the case. Don’t worry, everything’s fine.
“I’m used to people doubting me. Since the start of my career, it’s been the same. Maybe I need that so I don’t get too comfortable, but between last season and the Euros, I’ve got no reason to doubt myself.”
There we have it, the reason why Giroud has barely featured for Arsenal is because Arsène Wenger didn’t deem it necessary for him to be ready by the start of the season.
After only picking four points in their first three games, including a loss at home to Liverpool, perhaps that wasn’t the wisest of moves?
