Arsenal Transfer News: Olivier Giroud Eyed by Napoli, AC Milan in Latest Rumours

Napoli and AC Milan are reportedly interested in signing Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud.

That's according to Italian outlet Sport Mediaset (h/t Stuart Ballard of the Express), with the former targeting him to replace the injured Arkadiusz Milik and the latter hoping he can provide a strong alternative to Carlos Bacca.

Giroud has missed a significant part of the season with injury, but he bagged three goals in two games upon his return.

ESPN FC's Mattias Karen praised him when he bagged a brace with his first two touches against Sunderland in October, and he believes Giroud offers Arsenal a different option to the rest of his team-mates:

In his absence, the Frenchman has slipped behind Alexis Sanchez in the pecking order, with the Chilean shining after being moved to a central role.

Football writer Oli Price-Bates believes the Gunners have been better for his absence:

The 30-year-old does stand out somewhat from the rest of the Arsenal squad as he lacks the pace and technical ability of his team-mates, so he cannot always engage in the team's intricate passing moves in the final third.

Indeed, according to Squawka, he has never averaged higher than 69 per cent passing accuracy over the course of a season in the Premier League since he joined the Gunners in 2012.

Giroud isn't quite as ruthless as he should be, either—he's bagged 85 goals in 195 games for Arsenal, but the Gunners would want more from a player leading their line each week if they're to win the Premier League title.

Nevertheless, the France international is undoubtedly worth keeping as a squad player at the very least, but the interest from the Serie A duo is understandable.

Neither possess a great deal of firepower beyond Milik and Bacca, while the slower pace of play in Italy would make Giroud's lack of speed less of an issue.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is known for showing loyalty to his players, though, and Giroud has been a fairly strong performer for him in his time at the club, so it seems fairly unlikely he'd be willing to part with him unless he pushes for a move.