Marseille coach Rudi Garcia has rejected reports the Ligue 1 club are in the market for Olivier Giroud as he slips down the pecking order at Arsenal.
Giroud's future at Emirates Stadium has been the subject of considerable speculation during the close season following the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon.
Arsene Wenger splashed out a club-record fee, thought to be in the region of €53million, for Lacazette last month and he has been first choice as Arsenal's lone central attacker in their pre-season friendlies.
"I think he [Giroud] does not want to come to Marseille," Garcia told L'Equipe. "That is the problem.
"It can be understood, when you are the striker of the French [national] team, that he's eventually going to change clubs, but he may have other interests than OM [Marseille].
"We need people motivated to play in our country.
"It also shows that we have steps to take in order to be attractive [to players]. Today we are still a little short [of appealing to top players].
"I do not know which forward we will get to come, but I hear a lot of things, and you do not want people to dream and think we're going to sign a top player.
"We cannot afford it."
