Worrying news this morning for Arsenal fans… Arsenal scout Gilles Grimandi admitted that Olivier Giroud was signed as a back-up plan in case Robin van Persie left the London club. How a player like Giroud, while gifted, is supposed to be a replacement for a striker who scored 30 goals in the league last season (40% of the club’s entire goal output), I don’t know. There are only a few players who could rival van Persie, in terms of new signings. And Giroud is nowhere near that level.

Meanwhile, England’s u19 team will play against Greece today in the semi-final of the u19 Championship, held in Estonia. The game will be shown live on GolTV with coverage beginning at 10:30am ET.

Here are today’s Premier League news headlines: