Giroud: Smoking culture is common among footballers

Olivier Giroud may have inadvertently revealed that a number of the Arsenal teammates are habitual smokers.

Szczesny was fined £20,000 for lighting up in the dressing room last month and Jack Wilshere’s has been caught puffing away on several occasions.

Speaking to French newspaper L'Equipe, Giroud said: "Everyone knows that there are a lot of players who smoke.

"In every team there are four or five. It doesn’t shock me. In rugby, they also smoke. And nobody is shocked."

Wenger has both a “moral and physical’ objection to footballers smoking but also admits that he used to have the odd cigarette himself years ago to relieve the pressures of being a young coach.

“The other day on French television they showed me on the bench smoking a cigarette. I didn’t even think it was me. At that time, I remember Marcelo Lippi at Juventus smoked a cigar during the whole game in every game,” said Wenger.

And when asked if it was because of stress Wenger said: “Yes, of course.”