French assistant coach warns Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud World Cup place under threat due to lack of game time
OLIVIER GIROUD has been told to quit Arsenal to save his World Cup dream.
The French international has been frozen out by Arsene Wenger and has failed to start a single Premier League game since the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon.
The 31-year-old who moved to North London from Montpellier in 2012 opted to stay at the Emirates and reject moves to Everton and Marseille last summer.
But his decision looks to have backfired with just 234 minutes of league action this term, including a late cameo in the pulsating 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.
Les Blues boss Didier Deschamps has warned Giroud who has won 69 caps, scoring 29 goals his place in the World Cup squad is under serious threat due to lack of game time.
French assistant Guy Stephan said: “Didier Deschamps has already had the opportunity to talk to him about it and now Olivier has to find a solution in the weeks to come.
“A loan deal in January? That’s up to him.
“Olivier has been very good for us in the last few months and he has a very high ratio in terms the amount of games played to goals.
OLI GUNNER SULK STAR Olivier Giroud admits frustration over lack of Premier League match action
“But now he must play more.”
Giroud has scored five goals in 20 Arsenal appearances this season and revealed his frustrations after coming off the bench to score against Huddersfield.
He said: “Yeah, because we are competitors and we want to play every single game to help the team win.
"We want to be on the pitch, we are all competitors so that is it.