Arsene Wenger is convinced that Olivier Giroud’s goal against Swansea in the Premier League on Saturday was the real turning point.

After a lacklustre first half, Arsenal came out in the second with a point to prove. However, it wasn’t until Giroud’s goal minutes into it that the mood really changed.

The goal gave our players the belief we needed to go on and win, and the Frenchman’s celebration showed this. If he hadn’t, it could have just been one of those matches where we plugged away and got nothing – and if it’d been last season, that might still have been the outcome.

Speaking after the match, the boss said, “We had a difficult first half but we came through it. I rested eight players on Wednesday and gave them a little breather this week, and it took us a little while to get into the tempo of the game.”

He added, “I am pleased because we could keep a clean sheet during the difficult moments of the game and you are never in a hurry to take too many risks going forward. Once we scored the first goal it was a completely different game.”

Although we went on to score two more goals through Koscielny and Campbell, the opening goal was the one that really opened the flood gates, put Swansea on the back foot, and encouraged us to go on and win 3-0.