Reports are out claiming that Nicolas Anelka is confident that Olivier Giroud will come good for Arsenal.
The France international striker has been the subject of criticism at both club and country level in recent times but former Gunners star Anelka believes the faith shown in him by manager Arsene Wenger will benefit the club in the long run.
“Arsene did the same with me – when Ian Wright was there, he didn’t buy anyone and I had to do the job up front,” Anelka told The National.
“He believed in me and in the end I played regularly and played well.
“He made the same choice with Giroud.”
Anelka, who played for Arsenal between 1997 and 1999, feels that Wenger’s apparent transfer window oversight of failing to bring in a new outfield player is not necessarily a detriment to the squad.
“Of course, you can always say when you don’t win that it wasn’t good enough, because the fans want to take the title.
“You can always say they need to buy someone up front, but previously they have bought Mesut Ozil, who’s a good player, Alexis Sanchez is a good player. They can score goals and give good assists.
“People just want big names in attack, but Giroud is good enough to score goals. And behind him there are big players who can supply him so he can score a lot of goals.
“Arsenal have a strong squad – people don’t see it but they do.”