Arsene Wenger insists he will not sell Olivier Giroud despite having "opened the door" for the striker to leave Arsenal.
And the Gunners boss claimed that his decision to stay in part of Arsenal’s most formidable attack in over a decade was "one of the great days" of his summer.
Giroud reprised his super sub role from last season to score the 85th minute winner as Arsenal overturned a 3-2 deficit to beat Leicester 4-3 in a thrilling Premier League curtain-raiser.
The 30-year-old, who started only 11 Premier League games last season but had the best minutes per goal ratio bar Harry Kane, had been a target for Everton, West Ham, Marseille and Lyon during the transfer window.
But as Standard Sport revealed last month, Giroud made clear his intention to stay and fight for a starting spot at Arsenal despite the £52.7million arrival of Alexandre Lacazette - even though the club had considered allowing him to move on to make way for either their new record signing or Monaco star Kylian Mbappe.
"It’s fantastic [he wants to stay]," Wenger said. "I must tell you I opened the door for him at some stage because I know it’s important for him to play. But I don’t want him to go.
"In the end he decided to stay and it was one of the great days of the recent weeks for me.
"I know how important he is, not only as a player but in the group. He has a big weight [of importance] in this squad. It was a relief for me that he decided to stay."
Asked whether he could go before the transfer deadline Wenger said: “It’s a determined no.”
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Giroud may have crowned Arsenal’s comeback, but he was not the only impact sub to drag Wenger out a hole after their makeshift backline had creaked under the pressure of Shinji Okazaki and Jamie Vardy, who scored twice in a superb individual display against the side who had tried to sign him last season.
Fellow substitute Aaron Ramsey had poked home the goal to make it 3-3 while Lacazette and Danny Welbeck had already found the net.
Wenger was also able to turn to Theo Walcott, with Alex Iwobi on the bench and Alexis Sanchez on the sidelines with an abdominal injury.
It is perhaps the strongest frontline Wenger has had since he last won the title in 2004.
"It’s a long time we had not so much quality," Wenger told Standard Sport. "Giroud is in his prime, he’s at the top of his game. We have top quality."
