Arsenal line up move for Montpellier's £50m-rated France forward Giroud

Arsene Wenger has instructed chief French scout Gilles Grimandi to compile a dossier on Montpellier striker Olivier Giroud.



The Gunners manager - together with chief scout Steve Rowley - has identified the France international as a potential summer signing.



And Wenger has asked former Arsenal defender Grimandi to keep a close eye on Giroud’s form between now and the end of the season.

Highly-rated: Montpellier have slapped a £50m price-tag on Olivier Giroud

Grimandi will report back to Wenger with his assessment on the 25-year-old centre forward towards the end of the current campaign.



Giroud is viewed as one of the hottest properties in France having followed up last season’s 14 goal haul with 22 so far this season.



Arsenal are not the only club who are showing an interest in Giroud, who has three international caps.



Newcastle scout Graham Carr has recommended Giroud to manager Alan Pardew, while Bayern Munich and Juventus are also keen.



Negotiating a fee could prove difficult, however, after Montpellier owner Louis Nicollin said recently that it would cost at least £50million to prise Giroud away from France.

Head over heels: Giroud has scored 22 league goals this season

Despite having already bagged Lukas Podolski, Wenger wants to bolster his attacking options for next season.



Marouane Chamakh’s Gunners career is as good as over after he was pictured with a shisha pipe just hours after Arsenal’s shock 2-1 loss against Queens Park Rangers.



The Morocco international insists he still has a career at the Emirates Stadium after telling French magazine Onze: ‘Am I going back to Bordeaux? For now, no.



‘I have spoken to Wenger and I will stay at Arsenal. I think he trusts my work and I will have opportunities in the first team.

France international: Giroud has scored once in three caps for his country

‘I left Bordeaux to improve as a player and I think I can continue for this club. My agents have been ordered to reject bids that come from other clubs because I want to prove I can be useful for the Gunners.’



But Wenger does not take a lenient view on professional footballers smoking and publicly reprimanded William Gallas in 2008 after the then Gunners defender was snapped with a cigarette in his mouth.



And Wenger is resolved to sell Chamakh this summer, with his shisha escapade the final straw for the Gunners manager.

