Wenger praises Giroud's loyalty after revealing sale was possible

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed he had given Olivier Giroud the option to leave the club but was pleased the French forward opted to stay at the Emirates, a move that paid off in a season-opening win over Leicester City.

Giroud, who has been linked with teams like Marseille, Lyon, and Everton, scored Arsenal's fourth goal of the night to seal a 4-3 victory against the Foxes, coming off the bench and heading home off a late corner kick. Wenger had no problem praising Giroud's commitment - and skill - after the match.

"I love the man and the player," Wenger told Sky Sports of Giroud, as quoted by BBC Sport. "He's a fantastic guy and he's committed. He doesn't want to leave and I'm happy he wants to stay.

"At one stage I opened the door for him as I knew I had many strikers, and in the end he decided to stay."

It was a decision that Wenger's side certainly benefited from on the night as Giroud scored yet another late winner while coming off the bench; it marked his 50th goal at the Emirates Stadium in all competitions and his seventh as a substitute since this time last year, good for three more than any other player.

The signing of Alexandre Lacazette - who opened the scoring just two minutes into the match for his first-ever Arsenal goal - seemed to signal the end of Giroud's time at the club but the two shared the field perfectly, combining on a few occasions and testing Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

"It's impossible to keep them happy when strikers don't play," Wenger said of the duo. "We have many games and hopefully I can give games to all the strikers. They all deserve to play."

But the result could not be attributed solely to the French attacking twosome, as goals from Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck as well as constant work by Hector Bellerin on either flank helped overwhelm the Foxes in the end ... and overcome some defensive frailties that Leicester exposed, too.

Wenger offered, of his team: "Going forward and character wise we have been great. We had some avoidable goals which we conceded and overall we have to work on that."

He later added: "I'm convinced that overall this kind of game can strengthen the belief. When you're in difficult situations you're reminded you've done it before so can do it again."