France manager Didier Deschamps has insisted he still trusts Olivier Giroud, and is backing the striker to come through a rough patch of form.

Giroud’s last outing for France saw him substituted to a chorus of boos, while he has lost his place as Arsène Wenger’s first choice striker to in-form Theo Walcott.

“It’s hard, it’s a difficult time for him,” Deschamps told the press ahead of France’s fixtures against Armenia and Denmark. “He was sent off in the Champions League and could not play the last game in the competition.

“Obviously, his confidence has declined. He left us with a match against Serbia where he could have been more efficient.”

Giroud has still scored three times for Arsenal this season, and is averaging a Premier League goal every 109 minutes after scoring from the bench against Stoke City and Leicester City.

He hasn’t scored for France since March, though he has only played 189 minutes in that time, and Deschamps was keen to stress that he still has faith in him.

“At the World Cup he started two matches, he was important and we can’t lose that overnight. The fact that he’s here, also says that I trust him.”

With the European Championships coming up in his home country, Giroud will have to keep the faith of his coach to represent France next summer. Alexandre Lacazette will put pressure on him, while Karim Benzema will be starting games. Thankfully for Giroud, Deschamps has been experimenting with formations to include two strikers.

Hopefully the Arsenal man proves himself worthy of another call-up over the next week or so.