Olivier Giroud believes Arsenal must bolster their attacking options before the transfer window closes even if it means competing for a place with a high profile star.

The French international appears to be the club’s first choice (only?) striker as things stand and picked up where he left off in pre-season with a tidy finish to open his account against Villa. However, with Yaya Sanogo lacking any top flight experience and Lukas Podolski seemingly destined to ply his trade on the left, there were few options to replace the former-Montpellier man as he tired in the second half.

Having welcomed links with Luis Suarez earlier in the summer, the attacker told Le Parisien (link paywalled, alternative here) after Saturday’s opening day defeat that he still thinks arrivals are needed.

“In my opinion, it’s necessary for the club to recruit another striker.

“Obviously, I think about it a little bit. It may have an influence, especially if it’s a high profile signing.

“It’s useless lamenting this though. I know what I have to do and what I’m capable of. I’m focusing on me and my work. The coach is counting on me, so I don’t think too much.”

Looking back on his first year in England, Giroud continued:

“The first year I acclimatised! The season was good, but I know I can do better. I learned much and improved a great deal. I know how the defenders behave, how to position against them, and how to be smart in the duels. This experience is invaluable.

“Individually, I want to score more than 17 goals in my last year, and do better than my 10 assists. I want to be more decisive and effective.”

Arseblog News has already documented the number of times players have spoken in the press about the need for new recruits. For some time now it’s felt like they’re pushing the boss to act as much as the fans.

On one level it’s great that they are receptive to competition, on the other it’s very worrying that squad morale could be seriously damaged by inaction. If they think extra quality is needed to challenge for honours, do they believe they can achieve that aim without it? Perhaps not…

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Thanks to @GrooverBlog for the help with the translation.