Arsenal: Arsene Wenger hopes Olivier Giroud can get back to scoring ways after Hull brace

Arsene Wenger expects Olivier Giroud to get to scoring ways after the Frenchman netted two against Hull City in the fifth round replay of the FA Cup at the KC Stadium. The 29-year-old went 11 games without a goal in all competitions and has been tipped to get Arsenal's season back on track.

The Gunners are currently eight points adrift of leaders Leicester City and have to win their remaining games if they have to have any chance of ending their 12-year- long wait without the title. Their progress in Europe is also under doubt with the Gunners having to overturn a two-goal deficit at the Nuo Camp to make their way into the quarter-finals for the first time in over six years.

Wenger is hoping that this will bring Giroud back among the goals and help regain his confidence which can take the Gunners closer to the title. Theo Walcott, who has received a lot of flak for his performance against Manchester United, was also among the goals, with the 27-year-old scoring a brace of his own to confirm Arsenal's progress into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup where they will take on Watford at the Emirates.

"It is a weight on the shoulders when the players don't score," Wenger said, as quoted by the Mirror. "So the fact that they score will of course take that weight off. But it is a bit cyclic always, especially for Giroud. Giroud has cycles so it was a weight off his shoulders.

"Football has to be instinctive and you have to play with freedom. When you play with a bit more freedom, then the goals are natural. Every striker will tell you that.

"With Giroud, this season for example he has had games where he has gone boom, boom, boom, boom boom, and after he had a little spell where he didn't score, now I hope he has a repetition of his former spell and start to score again," he added.