WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS 1 GIR THE ONE THAT I WANT
Euro glory for young Lions Wenger backs Giroud to stay at the Emirates after French ace dazzles on tour Down Under
ENGLAND won the European Under-19 Championship title to continue the summer of success for the young Lions.
A 2-1 win for Keith Downing’s side against Portugal in Georgia gave England the trophy for the first time.
Aston Villa defender Easah Suliman headed England in front early in the second half but a sliced own-goal from Chelsea right-back Dujon Sterling saw Portugal level before the hour.
Downing’s side, though, clinched a memorable victory when Manchester City forward Lukas Nmecha swept in after 68 minutes following a powerful run down the right from Chelsea’s Mason Mount. ARSENE WENGER insists he will try to persuade Olivier Giroud to stay after the Arsenal striker proved his point on the club’s pre-season tour.
Giroud scored and outshone £ 52million record- signing Alexandre Lacazette and Wenger insisted afterwards that he does not want to sell him this summer.
Borussia Dortmund are leading the chase for Giroud while Everton and Marseille are also keen as it appears he could go after Lacazette’s arrival.
Respect
Gunners boss Wenger said: “There’s a lot of speculation but no matter how many times I say it, I have a huge respect for him, for the man he is and the way he loves our club.
“Even with the speculation he is focused and he does his job. I always said I want him to stay. I was always consistent in that and that’s where we are at the moment.”
Giroud admitted earlier in the week that it could be an “option” to leave and looked annoyed afterwards when an Australian TV reporter asked if he was moving to Everton.
The France forward refused to discuss his future further but did say that he could imagine partnering c ompatriot Lacazette in attack for Arsenal after they both started against Western Sydney Wanderers.
Lively
Giroud said: “I’m still an Arsenal player for the moment and want to play well for the season. It’s always nice, as a striker, to score.
“Alexandre is a good player and it is easy to play with this type of player on the pitch. We had the opportunity to play together a little bit for the national team and hopefully he will settle in the English Premier League.”
Giroud looked downbeat after the game but on the pitch – in front of 83,221 fans – he was anything but as he was sharp, lively and opened the scoring after 33 minutes with a smart finish at the near post.
Wenger played Giroud through the middle and Lacazette was just behind but the Arsenal manager also made it clear afterwards that the new boy will be his main centre-forward.
Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny were also on target. Steven Lustica pulled one back following a defensive mix-up after sub keeper Emiliano Martinez picked up Ramsey’s back pass. Arsenal made 10 changes just after 66 minutes and lost their momentum despite substitute Mesut Ozil hitting the post with a late free-kick.
It made it two wins out of two games in three days in Sydney before Arsenal fly off to China to face Bayern Munich and then Chelsea.
But Wenger also sent a clear Follow us on Twitter: @peoplesport warning that Alex OxladeChamberlain can forget about leaving, despite the England midfielder having just a year left on his contract and being linked with Liverpool.
Wenger has also given up his pursuit of Monaco wonderkid Kylian Mbappe and Arsenal’s information is that the 18-yearold will stay at the French club for one more season as he denied reports in Spain that they have made a £120m bid.
Wenger added: “That’s not true either. People have a big imagination. What we know now is that Mbappe is over £100m and after that it’s free to imagine what you want.
Offer
“But we have not made any offer. I think he will stay, it looks like that. One more season.
“Maybe he has too much choice. In the end, people don’t move.
“Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will stay. 100 per cent I expect him to stay. There is no speculation. No matter what happens he will stay.
“There has been over 160,000 people in two games. Will we get that in China? I’m not sure. But it shows us how much people love sport here.”