Rio Ferdinand: 'Theo Walcott should have started, not Olivier Giroud'

Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Arsene Wenger made a mistake by preferring Olivier Giroud to Theo Walcott up front in Arsenal's 2-1 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday.

The Gunners suffered a losing start to their Champions League campaign in a match which saw striker Giroud receive a first-half red card, with Dinamo leading 1-0 through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's own goal at the time.

Junior Fernandes doubled the lead on 58 minutes, before substitute Walcott reduced the arrears in the final quarter, and Ferdinand says that the result might have been different had the England international started.

"They've got to give Theo a chance [up front]. He's been there all these years, he's mooted about wanting to be a centre-forward," the ex-Manchester United defender told BT Sport.

"I think Wenger is hurting Arsenal by not giving him a sustained period playing up front. Give him a chance to prove himself, if he can't do it then go out and buy someone."

Playing up front, Walcott opened the scoring in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Stoke City on Saturday, with Giroud adding a second after coming off the bench.