Olivier Giroud is set to leave Arsenal in January over concerns of a lack of game time, according to various reports on Sunday morning.

The Express write that Southampton are preparing a club record bid for the Frenchman, which would be more than the £18m they paid for Mario Lemina. They claim that Everton are also monitoring the situation after making their interest clear in the summer.

Meanwhile, the Mirror report that a source close to Giroud has informed them that Olivier doesn’t want to leave London, “but he needs football – there are options in London for him”. These options include West Ham and Crystal Palace, and the deal would likely be on loan, allegedly.

Considering none of the four clubs have hit 20 league goals for the season, I don’t have much doubt they could offer Olivier the game time he wants ahead of the World Cup this summer.

But loaning a 31-year-old when there are teams willing to pay more than £18m for him just seems irresponsible. If Giroud isn’t going to be around for the second half of the season, the Gunners need to bring in some money for him and reinvest.

Olivier has six goals in 21 appearances this season, with only eight of those appearances starts. That  leaves him behind only Alexandre Lacazette in Arsenal’s top scoring charts this season.

A player like that shouldn’t be leaving the club cheaply, or at all, if he can’t be replaced.