Friday 11 December 2015 12:27, UK
Arsene Wenger says Olivier Giroud has to be counted among the best strikers on the continent and moved to distance Arsenal from a move for Karim Benzema.
Giroud scored a hat-trick against Olympiakos on Wednesday as the Gunners secured their spot in the Champions League knockout stages, meaning he has now scored 10 goals in his last 12 appearances.
The 29-year-old has taken on the goalscoring burden as Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez have been sidelined with injury this season and Wenger believes he has to be counted among Europe's finest.
"I think he's in that league because he plays for one of the best clubs in Europe and he scores goals," Wenger said. "If you look at the number of games and the number of goals, you have to give him credit.
"He's not only a goalscorer, he's a guy who puts work in for the team. I think he's among the best strikers in Europe.
"I believe recently he has come back with an improved game and with his finishing. Wednesday was one of his best performances on all fronts."
The victory in Greece was the first time this season Giroud and Walcott had started a game together and, while Wenger plans to rotate them in order to give either one a break, he insists the duo can be deployed at the same time.
"He [Giroud] is not exhausted in December because a striker is a bit of a more demanding job and he had a breather and came in and out," he said. "I think I will have to do that again because it is so demanding now and he has a game that demands a lot of energy, that sometimes you need a breather in that squad.
"They can play together well, what I did on Wednesday night, so in some games I will play them together. It depends on the global balance of the team, it is a bit more different when Alexis is there as well."
Wenger has long been linked with Giroud's international colleague Benzema, who has been deemed 'unselectable' by the French Football Federation over the sex-tape blackmail case involving team-mate Mathieu Valbuena
The Arsenal boss believes it is right to leave Benzema out and dismissed a move for the 27-year-old.
"We just said that Olivier Giroud is a great striker, so behind that we cannot buy Karim Benzema," he said. "I think it is a legal case and as long as it has not been judged, you have to wait for the judgement. At the moment he cannot play because he is under investigation and as long as he is not cleared, he should not play."
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