Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has jumped to the defence of Olivier Giroud after his performance in defeat to Champions League opponents AS Monaco.

The 28-year-old had scored five goals in seven games prior to Wednesday's disappointment and Wenger refused to assign any blame to the striker.

"I hope the criticism doesn't affect him," he said. "He's a strong character, Olivier. Personally I don't blame him at all. We lost as a team, we fight for each other as a team and he worked hard for the team even on the night. He didn't miss the chances on purpose. He wanted to score the goals but that can happen.

"He's like everybody else - disappointed. There's nobody to blame individually. Who is a striker who didn't miss a chance? He had his chances and he missed it. For us on the night, everything went against us. The fact that we missed some chances was only one of the characteristics of the night."