• I want to carry on. But we have to see. I need more time of games’ • Arsène Wenger ‘explained to me why I hadn’t played too much’

Olivier Giroud says he has yet to sign a contract extension at Arsenal but hinted he could be willing to commit his future to the club, despite spending the majority of the season playing second fiddle to Alexis Sánchez.

Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud snatches late win against West Brom Read more

The France forward scored the winner against West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day to end Arsenal’s two-match losing streak in his first Premier League start of the season. It meant Giroud has now scored in each of the three starts he has made this year, having also found the net in the Champions League ties against Ludogorets and Paris Saint-Germain in November.

The 30-year-old’s contract is due to expire at the end of next season and Arsenal’s manager, Arsène Wenger, has previously urged Giroud to sign a new deal. Reports in France this month said he has already extended his contract but the player purchased from Montpellier in June 2012 has denied that is the case. “People have been saying I have signed a new contract,” he said. “It is not true but may be soon.”

With Danny Welbeck having returned to full training and Lucas Pérez also back from injury, Arsenal have a plethora of attacking options at present, although Wenger has opted to use Sánchez in a central role for most of the season. Despite his manager’s attempts to explain his decision to prefer the Chilean, Giroud admitted it has been difficult to spend so long on the substitutes’ bench having previously established himself as first choice.

“It is all about keeping the focus high. Always keep working hard at training,” he said. “I was speaking with the boss, we had a couple of discussions together and he explained to me why I hadn’t played too much until here. But football is an everlasting new beginning, as I used to say, and you always have to keep focused and wait for your time.

“Today I played, I tried to give everything for the team and hopefully things will change for me. But as long as the team is getting better I am happy and I am part of the club since five years and I want to carry on. But we have to see, I need more time of games but we will see in the future. The best thing is to keep within distance of Chelsea.”

Theo Walcott is expected to miss the match against Crystal Palace on Sunday and the trip to Bournemouth on 3 January because of a calf problem, meaning Giroud could continue to deputise in his absence. Having returned to pre-season late after helping France reach the Euro 2016 final, he was limited to three substitute appearances by the end of September before a groin injury forced him to miss a further four weeks.

Now Giroud is hoping his goal against West Brom will be a turning point in Arsenal’s season, with Wenger’s side nine points behind the leaders, Chelsea, with almost half the season completed, despite beating Antonio Conte’s side 3-0 at the end of September.

“I came back a bit late from the Euros and it was nice for my body because I could rest but not good for me because the team was doing well and another striker was doing well up front,” he said.

“This season has been difficult because also I was injured for a month and a half, so it hasn’t been easy. I don’t want to talk too much about me but it was a big day for me but also a turning point for the team because, if we didn’t win, we would have been in trouble. We always try to be positive and keep the faith in our game, keep going and keep believing and at the end of the day that has paid off.”