Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident French striker Olivier Giroud will be a huge success at the Emirates, should he complete the transfer from Ligue 1 club Montpellier. The 25 year old has been a long-standing target of the Gunners and has a price tag in the region of £13mn.

The forward scored 25 goals last season to help his club clinch the domestic title and that kind of form has attracted interest from several high-profile clubs. The Gunners have been linked most often with the player and, IBTimes UK earlier reported the parties were already in discussions.

"Giroud didn't play much (at the Euros so far), but he's going to be an Arsenal player 90 percent next season. I think he has exceptional potential and will integrate very well in our collective and our way of playing. He is a real team player and knows how to combine with other players and I'm sure he will do well with us," Wenger explained to a French media source, according to the Daily Mail.

Meanwhile, the 62 year old Frenchman is presently working as a media expert for the European Championships and admits to having been very impressed by German striker Lukas Podolski's performance so far.

"Podolski did a great job for the German team, he has superb team work. He plays in a cautious way sometimes, but he's still scored a very important goal against Denmark for his 100th cap. I am very happy with what I've seen from him," the Gunners boss admitted in a Goal.com report.

The signing of Podolski, along with the probable signing of Giroud, means Wenger will have to release several squad players, including Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner, Moroccan forward Marouane Chamakh, Mexican international Carlos Vela and Brazilian midfielder Denilson.

Podolski, meanwhile, has stated he joined Arsenal to work with Wenger.

"He has been a very successful coach both in Europe and around the world. This definitely helped in making my decision," said Podolski, according to Arsenal's official Web site.

"He speaks several languages, and German in particular, which is very helpful. We have spoken to each other on the telephone a few times, which was very good and also made my decision even easier," he added. The player scored on his 100th appearance for Germany, in the last group stage game against Denmark, and admitted he was looking forward to playing alongside national team mate Per Mertesacker.

"I speak to Per whenever we meet. Per has mentioned things about the club's organisation, the training ground and the fans, and this has really helped. It might have influenced me to a certain extent, but in the end of course I took the decision to come here myself," he added.

Germany