Arsenal Transfer News: Arsene Wenger Talks Olivier Giroud Amid Striker Rumours

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed Olivier Giroud will be the Gunners' first-choice striker next season despite the upcoming search for a new front man.

Danny Welbeck's recent long-term injury—which could see him out of action for up to nine months—has forced Arsenal to start the search for a new striker, but Wenger replied "yes" when asked if Giroud would still be the No. 1 option up front in 2016-17, per the BBC (via Sam Long in the Evening Standard):

"

I believe that Danny Welbeck being out now for a long, long time we will be on the road to look for one more striker.

After that it's down to compete. Olivier has strong and weak moments so we have to deal with that.

He is a bit unbelievable—he is in cycles. He scores in spells and then sometimes he scores less.

"

Frustratingly for Arsenal and their fans, Giroud, 29, followed an abject start to 2016—in which failed to net in the Premier League between January 13 and May 8 as the Gunners dropped out of the title race—by scoring four times in the last two matches of the season.

His final-day hat-trick in Arsenal's 4-0 win over Aston Villa followed an excellent performance in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City in which he played a part in both Gunners goals, per WhoScored.com.

Before his season-ending flourish, there had been rumours that Giroud could be on his way out of the Emirates in the summer, with a switch to Wolfsburg potentially on the cards, per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones:

Given his wild inconsistency, many Arsenal fans may have been open to seeing him leave—especially if it paved the way for the arrival of a genuine world-class striker—but Wenger has now effectively confirmed the Frenchman will be staying put.

And the manager's suggestion that Giroud will start the new campaign as the No. 1 front man indicates that Arsenal will not be launching a move for a major striker in the summer.

As noted by BBC Sport's Garth Crooks, that could be an error on Arsenal's part as Giroud does not appear to have the overall quality to lead the line in a title-winning side:

His 2015-16 Premier League tally of 16—three of them scored in a largely pointless final-day clash against an already-relegated side—is his joint-best return since he moved to the north London club in 2012, per WhoScored.

It is quite clear that, should Arsenal have genuine designs on winning the title again, they need a more prolific primary striker than Giroud.

The 2015-16 champions, Leicester City, had a main striker in Jamie Vardy who netted 24 goals this season, while Diego Costa scored 20 last term as Chelsea won the title, per ESPN FC.

Year	Champions	Top Scorer	Goals
2015-16	Leicester City	Jamie Vardy	24
2014-15	Chelsea	Diego Costa	20
2013-14	Manchester City	Yaya Toure	20
2012-13	Manchester United	Robin van Persie	26
2011-12	Manchester City	Sergio Aguero	23
2010-11	Manchester United	Dimitar Berbatov	20
2009-10	Chelsea	Didier Drogba	29

Per the Mail on Sunday's Rob Draper, Arsenal have previously been linked to the likes of Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, a player who could almost guarantee at least 20 Premier League goals a season, the type of return needed by a main striker in a title-winning side.

However, based on Wenger's comments, it seems he will stick with Giroud for next season, and only enter the transfer market to find back-up for the Frenchman rather than a player who could challenge and eclipse him.