Press conference

Wenger on Giroud, Aubameyang and the window

There is less than a week to go of the January window and transfer talk is continuing to hot up as the deadline nears.

Arsene Wenger was asked all about the situation with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Olivier Giroud and more in Friday's press conference.

This is what he said:

on the situation with Aubameyang…

I cannot tell you more. We have nothing to announce today. At the moment, we stay where we are. We keep our players. We have added Mkhitaryan and we have lost Alexis, so our squad is stable. Will anything else happen? At the moment I would say I don’t know. It’s still possible but we are far from being close.

on whether there is still interest in Aubameyang…

I can’t give you any special name, but will we still recruit somebody? It’s possible, we will try, but at the moment we are not close to signing anybody.

on whether Giroud was included in any offer…

No.

on whether Giroud could possibly leave, in light of interest from Chelsea…

I want Olivier to stay. I just told you if nobody comes in, nobody goes out. Maybe one or two young players out on loan somewhere, but the experienced side of the squad will remain the same unless somebody comes in.

on whether Giroud has asked to leave...

No, I have a consistent exchange with Olivier Giroud and we speak about the situation a lot. He played many games you know, because he played all the games in the Europa League and came on a lot in the Premier League and has scored important goals for us. He is an important player here that everyone wants to stay, and there is a high level of respect for Olivier in this club. He will certainly get more games and he could only leave if somebody else comes in.

on the World Cup maybe influencing Giroud's decision...

He is similar to Theo [Walcott], it is a comparable situation. We lost Theo, but to lose Theo and Olivier without getting anyone in would be too much, it is too many top-class players to leave the club.

on whether he is looking forward to the end of the transfer window…

I look forward to every end of the transfer window.

on whether it is hard work…

It is not hard work, it is disturbing. It’s work, we are here to work, it’s our job and we want to do our job well. We do not complain about the work, but it’s just that you want your energy in the team and the dressing room. I am focused on the next game and as long as the transfer window is open, it’s not always the case, so it’s more a difficulty on the mental front than on the working front.

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