Olivier Giroud has urged Arsene Wenger to sign a new contract at Arsenal, insisting the first team squad are “100 per cent” behind their manager.
In his press conference today Wenger insisted his preference was to remain at Arsenal after his contract expires at the end of this season but admitted he was “lucid enough” to know when the time was right for him to depart.
A vocal section of Arsenal supporters would suggest that time has long since passed but Wenger, who it is understood has a two-year extension on offer to him, has long maintained the support of his playing staff, with Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey among the most high-profile names to have come out in their manager’s defence.
Giroud added to that list in an interview with RMC, saying: “Obviously, he is someone who brought the club to where it is today, who has made it one of the best in Europe.
“We are supporting him 100%, it is not like today we would just jump ship or turn our backs. The players, we are the first ones concerned, we are the first affected.
“I hope, like my colleagues, that the coach will stay because I am convinced that we are not missing much in order to win the Premier League.”
The 30-year-old striker committed his own future to Arsenal in January, signing a new contract despite a season in which he has largely been forced to settle for a peripheral role.
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Arsenal’s top scorer in two of the last three seasons has started just six Premier League games this season but has weighed in with eight goals.
Giroud will be available for Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool, against whom he has scored five times in nine games, after overcoming a thigh injury that ruled him out of the FA Cup fifth round tie against Sutton.
