Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott Wanted to Stay at Arsenal, Says Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday that neither Olivier Giroud nor Theo Walcott wanted to depart the Emirates Stadium in the January transfer window but did so to advance their careers.

Walcott left for Everton in a £20 million deal to end a 12-year Arsenal career, while Giroud ended a five-and-a-half-season spell with the Gunners by joining Chelsea for £18 million.

Both had struggled significantly for game time under Wenger in the first half of 2017-18—they combined for just 439 Premier League minutes—and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's arrivals in January would likely have seen them slip further down the pecking order.

However, Wenger believes they would have preferred to remain in north London if possible, per Chris Burton of Goal:

"All our fans knew that Theo did not leave because he had any problem with Arsenal. It was just because he wanted to play and wanted to give himself a chance because he didn't get enough games here. Today, people are informed and you don't fool them.

"Theo is experienced, is a real Arsenal lover and is a guy who always respected the fans and the club. It was completely justified, and I'm very happy that he got a great reception [when he returned to the Emirates with Everton].

"Olivier is an Arsenal man as well. He left for similar reasons to Theo Walcott, by being sad to leave but also objective enough to analyse his situation. His professional career demanded that he moved, but his heart wanted him to stay."

Walcott, 29, has already played more than 10 times as many Premier League minutes for Everton in 2017-18 than he did for Arsenal. He has made eight starts, returning two goals and two assists.

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Giroud, meanwhile, is playing much the same role at Chelsea as he did at Arsenal, spending most of his time on the bench.

Having made 15 Premier League appearances as a substitute and starting just once this campaign before moving to Chelsea, he now has a total of three starts and 18 appearances from the bench in the English top flight in 2017-18.

However, the France international Giroud does look set to be included in Didier Deschamps' squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The 31-year-old is a favourite of the France manager and is expected to start when Les Bleus take on Colombia in a friendly on Friday, per football writer Robin Bairner:

Despite being handed plenty more minutes since his move to Everton, Walcott is still some way off returning to the England squad.

His last international cap came in November 2016, and it seems highly unlikely Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate will recall him for the summer's World Cup in Russia.