Jack Wilshere labelled Olivier Giroud “one of the best strikers in the Premier League” after he came off the bench to head home Arsenal’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Southampton.
Giroud has scored 10 goals in the 80th minute or later in 2017 and his header from Alexis Sanchez’s cross was his 17th as an Arsenal substitute, a Premier League record for one team he shares with former Manchester United forward Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 31-year-old has developed a habit of scoring at decisive moments for Arsenal since the start of last season, where his Premier League goals have earned the Gunners seven points despite the fact he has largely been confined to a backup role behind Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette.
“For me Oli is one of the best strikers in the Premier League when he’s on it and he’s on the bench, so it shows what we’ve got,” Wilshere told the Arsenal website.
“There are a lot of games in December, so I’m sure he’s going to get a start and if he’s coming on scoring goals that’s massive for the team and it was an important goal for him today.”
Both Giroud and Wilshere have seen their opportunities in the starting lineup confined to the Europa League and EFL Cup but the pair made impressive cameos off the bench as Arsenal overturned the Southampton lead Charlie Austin earned in the third minute when he pounced on a Per Mertesacker mistake.
The pair have hinted at frustrations at their exile from Arsene Wenger’s Premier League lineups but Wilshere insisted he was happy with the 21 minutes of action he got at St Mary’s.
“I’m enjoying it,” he said. “I’m enjoying playing and I want to play as much as I can. I’ve said before that I’ve missed way too much football and I’m just enjoying it at the minute.
“I don’t think it was our best team performance, but we showed character and dug in at the end and if you can’t win a game, don’t lose a game. We might look back at the end of the season and see it as a valuable point.”
