Arsene Wenger confirmed Olivier Giroud passed up an opportunity to leave Arsenal this summer.

Giroud was dropped from Arsenal's starting XI for their Premier League opener in favor of Alexandre Lacazette. But Giroud scored in the 85th minute to give Arsenal a 4-3 win over Leicester City.

"I opened the door for him at some stage [to leave], because I know that it's important for him to play," Wenger said in his postgame news conference.

"But I don't want him to go. And in the end he decided to stay and it was one of the great days of the recent weeks for me. Because I know how important he is, not only as a player -- he is a fantastic player -- but as well in the group.

"He has a big weight in this squad, and it was a relief for me that he decided to stay."