Koscielny still harbours title hopes

Despite Chelsea’s nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League, Laurent Koscielny has claimed that Arsenal’s full focus is on winning the title.

Olivier Giroud’s late header secured a vital 1-0 victory for Arsene Wenger’s side against West Brom on Boxing Day, as Arsenal bounced back from two successive defeats.

And although there seems to be little chance of catching the runaway league-leaders, who beat Bournemouth 3-0, Koscielny believes that Arsenal’s confidence will now flood back.

“The confidence will come back when you win and the most important thing now is to continue to win games in a row so that hopefully we can get into the first position,” he told the club’s website.

“We lost the first game of the season and we came back with a good run and a lot of wins. We lost two games in a week last week and it was very important to come back with a win. 

“We kept our calm and we know you can always find a solution at the beginning or end of games against teams like West Brom. [This time] it was a late goal.”

Koscielny was also quick to laud the performance of his compatriot Giroud, who had not made a Premier League start this season prior to Monday’s clash.

“Olivier stayed focused with the team. We are not 11 or 18 players, there are 25 players [in the squad],” the Frenchman added. 

“All of the players who play for Arsenal have a big part to play during the season because of injuries and suspensions, and everyone needs to be ready to fight for this club.

“Olivier started and he tried to give his best on the pitch. He fought and it’s good for him to score the winning goal.”