Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud: There was a lot wrong with my game during goal drought

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud admitted there were “a lot of things” wrong with his game during his 116-day Premier League scoring drought.

A 10th minute header against Manchester City was the first goal Giroud had scored in the Premier League since a brace on January 13 against Liverpool, with the French striker scoring in just one of the intervening 22 games.

Having rediscovered his shooting boots Giroud teed up Alexis Sanchez in impressive style for Arsenal’s second, holding off Eliaquim Mangala and back-heeling the ball into the path of the Chilean to secure a crucial 2-2 draw that leaves Arsenal on course to secure a third place finish in the league.

Arsene Wenger had acknowledged that Giroud did not have the confidence to score after a 0-0 draw with Sunderland last month but his faith in the striker, who has been consistently selected ahead of Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott in recent weeks, paid dividends. And it came as a blessed relief for Giroud.

“The goal meant a lot because it has been a tough time for me on the pitch as I have missed a bit of efficiency, a bit of luck and a lot of things,” he told the club website. “Things haven’t gone my way to [allow me to] finish, but I kept the faith and knew that it would come back.

“It is always nice for a striker to score, even more with an assist for Alexis’ second goal which was important. We now have our own destiny in our hands to finish third or maybe second.

“These last few weeks I tried to set up goals. [Alexis’ goal] was my sixth assist but I’m happy to score too and help the team to reach our target and qualify for the Champions League. That is a great present.”

Despite his 881 minute absence from the Premier League scoresheet Giroud remains Arsenal’s top scorer across all competitions, with 21 goals to Sanchez’s 17. Both have scored 13 goals in the Premier League.