Letting Olivier Giroud leave for Chelsea was an “especially difficult” decision for Arsene Wenger, according to reports, so why did he do it?

Jeremy Wilson writes in Thursday’s Daily Telegraph: “The loss of Giroud after more than five years and 100 goals was an especially difficult decision for Wenger”.

Yet the Arsenal manager let him go to a rival nonetheless. Perhaps it marks a shift away from sentimentality for Wenger. In the past, he always held onto the players who stayed loyal to him.

Last season, Olivier Giroud and Francis Coquelin both signed new contracts with the Gunners. Even though neither player was first choice, and the fans thought it might be time to move on, they both stuck around last summer.

Theo Walcott was another player many supporters gave up on, but he remained at the club as well.

In contrast, Lucas Perez had a falling out with the boss over game time last season, and was immediately shipped out to Spain.

This January, Wenger finally sold all three of the above players. Giroud, Coquelin and Walcott left to make way for new signings.

I think it’s very hard to argue objectively that keeping Giroud and missing out on Aubameyang would be a good move. Swapping the two was the best football decision, even if it meant ending a positive personal relationship.

You can’t turn down a player with 100 goals in three years for a player who is three years older with 105 goals in five-and-a-half years.

Maybe Wenger’s starting to realise he’s running out of time, and is developing a bit of a ruthless streak. Whatever the reasoning, it’s done now, and hopefully Aubameyang can prove it was the right decision.