Marseille, whose defence has been plagued by injuries with Souleymane Diawara and Stephane Mbia among those sidelined, have already lost their first two league games this season at home to promoted Caen and away at modest Valenciennes.
They also face mounting off-field problems with arguments between the board, the staff and the players over transfers.
"This is a difficult situation," coach Didier Deschamps told daily L'Equipe this week. "We don't need to be friends to work together in the best interest of Marseille but differences of opinion create tensions that players can feel."
He did not want to let captain Mamadou Niang, last season's Ligue 1 top scorer with 18 goals, join Fenerbahce but the board let the Senegal striker move to Turkey earlier this week.
Niang's sudden departure and the Ben Arfa row have left the club in complete disarray.
Marseille are desperately trying to sign a big-name forward but their efforts to lure Sevilla's Brazil striker Luis Fabiano have failed.
"It's getting urgent now because we're nearing August 31 and other clubs know that," Deschamps told his club's website, referring to the end of the transfer window.
"Bordeaux haven't got rid of their bad habits of last season. I wasn't there at the time but I've inherited a difficult situation," Tigana, who succeeded new France coach Laurent Blanc, told reporters.
"This is a psychological problem," he added.
