Olivier Giroud has defended his indifferent form for Arsenal this calendar year, stating that even Mesut Ozil struggled at one stage.

Giroud ended the season with 16 goals in 38 games for the second-placed Gunners, with the Frenchman being afforded only 26 starts.

He endured a 15-game barren run in the Premier League after scoring twice in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool in January however, and Arsenal’s title hopes, Champions League run and FA Cup chances subsequently ended.

The 29-year-old scored four goals in the final two league games of the season for Arsenal, and was selected in France’s 23-man squad for the European Championship, which they will host this summer.

When asked whether he ever feared for his place during his struggle for form, Giroud told French newspaper L’Equipe: “You can never be 100% sure. But given what I had accomplished in the team of France, I think so.

“Even at Arsenal if it didn’t work out at the start of the year, a team is not a player.

“Our problems were collective. I’ve been less efficient compared to the first half of the season, but it is same for all the players, either Ozil or another.

“We mostly talk about the striker because you are at the end of the line. I didn’t play well in some matches, it’s true, but I was also present in very important matches, against Leicester (a 2-1 win on February 14) for example.

“In the Champions League, if we qualified from the first knockout round it was also through my hat-trick against Olympiacos (a 3-0 win, December 9, 2015).”