Arsenal Transfer News: Latest on Olivier Giroud Loan, January Exit Rumours

Olivier Giroud is reportedly eyeing a loan move away from Arsenal in order to boost his World Cup hopes, after France assistant manager Guy Stephan told reporters the striker needs to play more.

According to the Sunday Mirror's Neil Moxley, Giroud wants to stay in London, with West Ham United and Crystal Palace mentioned as possibilities.

He was previously linked with Everton and nearly joined the Toffees in the summer, but his wife is expecting a third child, and a source said a move north is unlikely: "Olivier does not want to disturb and uproot his family. Ideally, he wants to stay but he needs football – there are options in London for him."

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Earlier in December, French assistant manager Stephan told Telefoot (h/t Adam Jones of the Liverpool Echo) Giroud's lack of playing time was an issue with an eye on the 2018 FIFA World Cup:

"It's clear that he is not getting enough playing time and Didier has already spoken to him about it. He has to find a solution in the coming weeks.

"A departure? It is up to him. He's been very good in the past, [for France] and he's played a lot of games and scored very important goals, so now he has to play."

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Les Bleus have an absurd amount of attacking talent to choose from, and while Giroud has long been a productive option for France, he's far from the only one. Alexandre Lacazette, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Moussa Dembele, Nabil Fekir, Anthony Martial, Florian Thauvin and Antoine Griezmann will all like their chances of making the team.

Out of that group, Giroud is the only full-time bench player in his domestic league. He hasn't started a single Premier League match this season but has been effective in the UEFA Europa league and coming off the bench.

Bet365 put his contributions in simple terms:

He's easily among the best back-up strikers in the league, and for the Gunners, that makes him extremely valuable. At the same time, manager Arsene Wenger will understand his eagerness to play in the World Cup, and Giroud has always been loyal to the club―Wenger may just reward that loyalty if he does ask for a loan.

Wenger previously told reporters Giroud won't be sold, responding to the comments from Stephan, per Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph.

Giroud appears more likely to stay with Arsenal, as any type of loan deal would weaken the squad, and Wenger would prefer not to do that―for obvious reasons.