AFP
London
French international Olivier Giroud rubbished talk of Arsenal winning the Premier League title despite an excellent run of form saying Sunday it is far too early to make such predictions.
The 30-year-old striker had been a peripheral figure this season, after suffering a toe injury, but his double after coming off the bench inspired the Gunners to an ultimately convincing 4-1 win over hapless Sunderland on Saturday.
Victory extended Arsenal's unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 games and fuelled talk of them winning their first league title since 2004. The win kept them level on points with Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the table after 10 matches, although City lead by virtue of a slightly better goal difference.
"We've only played a quarter of the league," Giroud told the Arsenal website. "It's still the beginning of the league and I'm not the man who will speak too much because we are first.
"We enjoy this position, obviously we want to finish first and win the league, but we know there is a long time to go. We're in a good moment and we need to keep it up and be consistent."
Giroud, who was part of the France side that went all the way to the Euro 16 final which they hosted only to lose to Portugal 1-0 in extra-time, said he hoped to maintain his form now he had returned from injury. The Frenchman, who has been at Arsenal since his goals helped unfashionable Montpellier win the Ligue 1 title in 2012, took just four minutes after beng sent on during the second-half by Arsene Wenger to open his account.
"If I could do that in every single game, I would be the most happy man," said Giroud. "I've been lucky -- I had great assists from my team-mates, so I always try to finish the job well.
"It's a big time for me because I'm coming back from a tough injury and I'm very happy to get back on the pitch. It's nice for myself and the team. To score is always important for a striker."
