Nicolas Anelka has defended both Olivier Giroud and Arsene Wenger for sticking by his striker, claiming that the boss gave him the same treatment when he was an Arsenal player.

Anelka played 75 matches at Arsenal, scoring 25 goals, but has since gone on pretty much a world tour of clubs, playing for the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea and now Mumbai City.

The fellow Frenchman believes Giroud will still return to his best and Wenger’s faith in him is key in this.

“Arsene did the same with me – when Ian Wright was there, he didn’t buy anyone and I had to do the job up front,” Anelka said. “He believed in me and in the end I played regularly and played well. He made the same choice with Giroud.

“Arsene believes in his team, that’s why he hasn’t spent money. He believes in Giroud because he thinks he will score a lot of goals, which he already has done. When you look at the statistics he’s not so bad. Arsenal won something last season, won something the season before, so why not again?”

The player added, “But people have to wait and see and then speak at the end of the season. If they don’t win anything, then you can say something. However, people have to trust Arsene. He knows what he is doing.”

During the transfer window, despite being heavily linked with Karim Benzema, Wenger didn’t sign an additional striker as backup to Giroud, much to the annoyance of most Arsenal fans. However, according to Anelka, it’ll only be a matter of time before the striker starts performing again.

For once, I find myself actually agreeing with something Anelka has said. I’m not concerned about Giroud’s lack of goals right now because he’s shown more than once that he’s capable of making a comeback and being fantastic.