HUGE injury boost for Arsenal from Giroud

Olivier Giroud has moved to allay the fears of Arsenal fans after seeming to twist his knee quite badly towards the end of the Premier League victory over Sunderland on Saturday. The French striker was subbed off straight away, but it really looked as if he was going to become the ninth first team Arsenal player on the sidelines. Arsene Wenger will be hugely relieved, because he was going to be forced into some serious juggling of his remaining fit players for the trip to play Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday. With Lukas Podolski and Yaya Sanogo injured, and Nicklas Bendtner not ready, Wenger had to turn to 17-year old Chuba Akpom, but throwing him into a tough away game in Europe would be a big risk. Fortunately, Giroud has played down his injury and insisted he would be fine to return to France on Wednesday. “It is not bad actually, not as bad as I first feared. I got a kick earlier in the game, but no-one was near me when I did it this time,” revealed Giroud. “I tried to connect with the ball a little bit too early and I caught my foot in the grass. I twisted my ankle, but fortunately it is nothing major. “I am OK, sure I will be fine (for Marseille).” The France international will definitely not want anything to interrupt his great start to the season, especially now has `King of assists` Mesut Ozil to provide him with chances to score. With four goals in four games, Giroud is joint top scorer, with Christian Benteke, so far in the Premier League. The pressure on him will hopefully be relieved by the weekend, with young Sanogo due to recover from his back problem in time for the potentially bruising visit of Stoke to the Emirates.