Olivier Giroud was 'close to leaving' Arsenal in the summer but decided to stay after 'a big reflection'

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Olivier Giroud has revealed he was poised to leave this year until a change of heart convinced him to write another chapter to his Arsenal career.

Giroud has scored 99 goals for the north London club since his £9.6million move from Montpellier in 2012 and is out to reach the landmark against Cologne in the Europa League.

He was wanted by Everton, West Ham and Marseille in the summer when Arsenal spent a club record £52m on Alex Lacazette but eventually told Arsene Wenger he would prefer to stay.

Olivier Giroud said he was close to leaving Arsenal in the summer amid Everton interest 

Giroud said that he decided to remain at Arsenal after 'a big reflection' with his family

Giroud is preparing for Arsenal's Europa League encounter against Cologne on Thursday

'It's true I was close to leaving the club,' said Giroud. 'I said I wanted to play but after big reflection with everybody around me like my family and close friends in a supportive way I decided I wanted to stay at the Arsenal.

'I thought the story was not finished at Arsenal. The club has brought me a lot and I want to give it back, improve and win more trophies. I said to the boss our story is not finished.'

Wenger paid tribute to the striker's attitude and commitment to the cause.

'He has a great evolution here and [his] contribution to the club [has been] tremendous,' said the Arsenal manager. 'He has shown a very loyal spirit and has high respect inside the club and from fans.'

Giroud moved to within one of 100 Arsenal goals on the opening day of the Premier League season when he came off the bench to score the winner in a thrilling 4-3 victory against Leicester.

'It's a privilege for me to play for Arsenal and to score almost a hundred goals,' said the 30-year-old France international. 'I hope it happens as quickly as it can. For a striker it's important to score.

'I keep it in a part of my mind but most important for me is to win. After, the goals will come if we play well and win our games.'

Giroud has scored 99 goals for Arsenal since his £9.6million move from Montpellier in 2012

Giroud said the Arsenal squad is very focused on winning the Europa League this season

After two decades among the elite of European football, Arsenal step into the Europa League against Cologne, hoping to emulate Manchester United, who won the competition last season.

'We are very focused for the Europa League,' said Giroud. 'We want to win it. I play football to win trophies and we are very ambitious. But this is only the first game. We need to wait. Step by step. We can do it. We want to do it.'

With a London derby against Chelsea on Sunday, Wenger plans to rest players.

Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Alexandre Lacazette, Danny Welbeck, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey all sat out training on Wednesday and are not expected to be involved but Alexis Sanchez could start for the first time this season.

'Trust me, we have a very good team,' said Giroud. 'We have at least two good teams and a lot of competition. It's nice for everybody when we need to be focused and competitive.'

Giroud came on as a substitute in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday

Giroud was speaking alongside boss Arsene Wenger ahead of Arsenal's match with Cologne

Confidence has been restored by a 3-0 win against Bournemouth on Saturday.

'We needed this win because we had a tough start,' said Giroud. 'It was not easy and wanted to bounce back. It was a strong response, good character. We were pleased with this result.

'We've been efficient in front of the goal. It's good for confidence and now we focus on Europa League and a big game on Sunday against Chelsea.'