With transfer speculation surrounding Arsenal over a new striker recruit in January, Olivier Giroud turned in one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt, bringing up hopes there might indeed be some light at the end of the tunnel.
The Frenchman has been criticized in several quarters for his slow start to life in the English Premier League, with the forward netting just one goal in the Premier League prior to the 3-3 draw at Fulham, where he added two of Arsenal's three goals.
Several reports have suggested Arsene Wenger is seriously considering a bid for a big-name striker, when the window opens in January, with the likes of Adrian Lopez of Atletico Madrid, Fernando Llorente of Athletic Bilbao and Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina topping the list, while Real Madrid's Karim Benzema has also been mentioned.
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has joined the list, with Wenger keen to tie up a center forward capable of getting goals frequently. While this is not the first time that Dzeko has been linked with a move to the Etihad, the possibilities of City allowing their striker to move in January, and that too to another Premier League club, is pretty slim.
Unless the English Premier League champions buy someone like Radamel Falcao or an Edinson Cavani, there will not be room for Roberto Mancini to let go of any of his strikers, with Mario Balotelli, anyways, the likeliest to exit the Etihad, given his fractious relationship with Mancini.
Dzeko was the hero for City on Sunday, scoring the winner against Tottenham, a nicely taken goal, and if City were to let go of the Bosnian, they would need a bigger replacement first and also a considerable transfer fee, something that Wenger is not too likely to pay, even if the Frenchman has around £35 million ($55.6 million) available.
Giroud, meanwhile, said his confidence is increasing with every game. "I feel better and better," he said. "I'm confident about my qualities. I never give up. When I didn't score at the beginning of the season I stayed confident and always worked on my mind and my game.
"It's not a surprise for me (his good form). I want to play a lot of good games like tonight to succeed, to win a lot of games with my new club. I have to score and continue (to do so)."
