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Giroud the ONLY fit striker left at Arsenal after Sanogo joins Podolski on injury list
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger is facing up to the prospect of having just one fit senior striker in his squad - Olivier Giroud - after Yaya Sanogo joined Lukas Podolski on the treatment table.
Sanogo picked up a back injury whilst playing for the France Under-21s, and returned to Arsenal early from international duty.
And with Podolski ruled out for three months with a hamstring strain, Giroud is Wenger's only established centre-forward available.
Theo Walcott can play as a striker - and called to for more chances up front before signing a new contract last season - but Wenger prefers the England international on the right wing.
Nicklas Bendtner stayed at the Emirates despite being heavily linked with a summer exit, but the Dane is well short of match fitness.
And South Korean forward Park Chu-Young has been included in Arsenal's 25-man Premier League squad for the current campaign, but he is missing from action.
That leaves Giroud as Wenger's only option up top against Sunderland on Saturday, but the French hitman is at least in great goalscoring form.
Giroud has scored four goals in five games for Arsenal so far this term, but was unable to find the net during away games for France against Georgia and Belarus.
The north London outfit bid for a host of strikers before the transfer deadline slammed shut last Monday, but Wenger only added free transfer Sanogo to his attacking ranks.
Luis Suarez, Gonzalo Higuain, Wayne Rooney, Karim Benzema and Demba Ba were all linked with Arsenal during the summer, but none were signed.
And 20-year-old Sanogo has asked supporters not to expect too much too soon this season after his switch from Auxerre.
"I will need time, it's a new way of life, a new league and it will take time to adapt," he said. "It's something I will manage.
"I think I'll have to toughen up and improve my strength, that's part and parcel of such an intense league as the Premier League, as well as getting used to the step up, which it is from the French league."