Olivier Giroud has equalled the record as the Premier League’s most prolific substitute for a single club after finding the net for Arsenal against Southampton.
The France international was called from the bench by manager Arsene Wenger midway through the second half of the clash at St Mary’s to replace Alexandre Lacazette and produced the goal that was hoped of him to snatch the Gunners a 1-1 draw.
When a free-kick from the left was floated into the box by Alexis Sanchez, Giroud got his forehead to the ball to skim an effort into the far corner of the goal, securing a point that had previously looked unlikely for the blunt Gunners.
It was the 17th time Giroud had come off the bench to score for the north London outfit in Premier League action, to draw level with the mark of former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who earned a super-sub tag for coming off the bench for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side to score 17 times.
Giroud has now matched the standard in this regard, including four goals this season.
The 31-year-old has achieved his tally in only 252 minutes on the field, meaning that he is finding the net at approximately a rate of once every 65 minutes. Nevertheless, he has yet to earn a Premier League start for Wenger’s side this season.
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