Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted that Olivier Giroud is currently struggling for confidence.
The French international has not scored in any of his last 14 Premier League appearances and he drew another blank in Sunday's 0-0 draw at Sunderland.
Giroud is currently on his longest run without scoring in the Premier League since joining Arsenal from Montpellier in 2012, and Wenger has conceded that the 29-year-old is currently suffering from a lack of confidence.
"It's true. The team got less forward to him in the second half. But strikers live on confidence and at the moment we have to be behind him," Wenger told Sky Sports News. "Our first half was good, the basis is good. The final ball was maybe not quick enough sometimes and our finishing was not the best.
"We had good domination but we created chances and didn't take them. It was the kind of game where we needed to go in front because I thought we might suffer physically."
Arsenal currently sit fourth in the Premier League table - five points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United, who have a game in hand.
Matt Law
