Arsene Wenger has explained why Olivier Giroud was sold to Premier League rivals Chelsea and admitted that the Gunners "owe" the Frenchman for his service to the club.
Giroud joined the Blues in an £18m deal on the closing day of the January transfer window, the same day that Arsenal completed the club-record signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Although Wenger acknowledges that selling the 31-year-old to a direct rival is not the ideal scenario from a football perspective, the Gunners chose to respect his wishes to stay in London for family reasons.
"Ideally, you want him to go to clubs not competing with you," Wenger told Sky Sports News.
"On the other hand, his deal was linked with the Aubameyang deal and he wanted to stay in London - he had just had a third baby.
"It was difficult for him to leave London and we owe Olivier a lot because of his dedication, commitment and love for the club, which was absolutely exceptional.
"It would have been difficult to turn it down, just because it was selling him to a competitive club."
Giroud scored 105 goals in 253 games for Arsenal after signing from Montpellier in June 2012.
Giuseppe Labellarte
