Arsenal Transfer News: Lukas Podolski Backs Olivier Giroud to Score More Goals as Santi Cazorla is Named Player of the Month

Oct 10, 2012 05:05 AM EDT

Arsenal's two summer signings in the striking department have had contrasting starts to their career at the Emirates - one has hit the ground running from game one, while the other has struggled to find the back of the net.

Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud combined brilliantly for Arsenal's crucial equalizer against West Ham, the former providing the latter his first English Premier League goal for his new club, and the Frenchman believes it could be the beginning of many more .

"I'm very happy to have scored and that we won," Giroud told Arsenal Player. "It was a difficult game against a very good team, who play well at home.

"We were better in the second half and (were able) to play through their lines. I think we finished the game better.

"I feel relieved now. It was very important for me to score in the Premier League, to keep going and start my adventure here with Arsenal."

Giroud said the Arsenal players were extremely disappointed with the defeat to Chelsea, and that had spurred them on to collect all three points against a tough West Ham side at home. "We had a bad one against Chelsea last week," he said. "It was important to go in front and to win.

"We'll keep going and stay confident for the future. I think we have a very interesting role in this championship."

Podolski provided the perfect cross for his teammate to guide home the first goal in a 3-1 victory, and the German international said he was confident the goals would keep coming for Giroud.

"Everybody wants goals from strikers and it was not easy for him," he said. "You must wait for your chance, keep fighting and the goals will come."

The mentality at Arsenal is a little different from the previous years, a defeat visibly hurting more, and the desire to make amends for such a loss, driving the team to success that has been the hallmark of this new-look Gunners side, that again celebrated as a team when Theo Walcott fired home the winner.

Podolski said he was revelling in the many London Derbies that Arsenal have during the course of a season, something he has not experienced too much in Germany.

"The atmosphere was very good, the fans are crazy and you get a lot of derbies here," Podolski added.

"In Germany you only have one or two derbies, here you have five! I like derbies but it was not good to lose to Chelsea at home.

"However, beating West Ham means we are back near the top of the league. I think it was a very important result.

"We saw the other teams at the top win, like Manchester City and Chelsea, so it was vital for us to get the three points before the (international) break.

Meanwhile, Arsenal's outstanding player of the season so far - Santi Cazorla - won his second-straight player of the month award, for September, beating out stiff competition from Carl Jenkinson, who has put in some admirable performances at right-back.

Cazorla won 29.4 percent of the votes, while Jenkinson ended up with 21.4 percent. Gervinho was third with 15.5 percent, while the other 34.7 percent of the votes were shared among several Arsenal players.

"Santi Cazorla is the EA SPORTS Player of the Month," a statement on the club's official website said.

"The Spain international made it two wins out of two after another impressive month for his new club. "

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