Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has expressed his believe that this is the year that the Gunners will finally seal a return to the Champions League.
Giroud currently features for Serie A Champions AC Milan, but rose to prominence during a five-and-a-half year spell at the Emirates Stadium.
During his stint at Arsenal Giroud scored 105 goals in 253 games for Arsenal before crossing over to London rivals Chelsea in January 2018.
During his time in north London, Giroud became accustomed to Champions League football. But Arsenal’s powers have waned significantly in the years since the 35-year-old’s departure – so much so that the last time the club actually qualified for Europe’s premier competition, Giroud was still at the club.
But things have improved significantly during Mikel Arteta’s reign and the Spaniard was agonisingly close to securing a return to the Champions League last year.
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But an implosion in the final weeks of the campaign opened the door for Tottenham, who pipped their bitter rivals to a top-four finish.
That heartbreak has spurred Arsenal to a dream start to the season this time around. The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League standings after winning five consecutive matches prior to last weekend’s 3-1 defeat against Manchester United.
And Giroud is adamant that Arsenal are now finally in a position to return to Europe’s elite club competition.
“I’ve also been watching my Gooners. I think it’s going to be another interesting year for them,” Giroud told Sky Sports.
When he was specifically pushed on if he believes that Arsenal would clinch a top-four finish this year, Giroud added: “Yes, definitely. I hope so.”
His comments come just a year after he claimed that Arsenal’s reluctance to spend significantly in the transfer market was likely to hinder their chances of reclaiming their spot amongst Europe’s elite – despite the fact they splashed out more than another top-flight side last summer in a bid to overhaul their squad.
When he was asked how long it will be until Arsenal finish in the top four again, Giroud told talkSPORT last October: “Wow, that’s a good question! I think Mikel Arteta has got time to come back in the top four.
“But sometimes the problem is that money plays a huge part in success also. When you see Chelsea after winning the Champions League spend over £80million [£97.5m] on Romelu Lukaku to reinforce the forward line and after spending a lot of millions the year before, I think money plays a huge part. That’s the thing with Arsenal. Maybe they don’t put as much in as their opponents.”
