Marseille are reportedly still keen on signing Olivier Giroud with their sporting director allegedly trying to ‘establish contact’ with Arsenal over a move.

Marseille’s sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, has allegedly tried to ‘establish’ contact with Arsenal over a move for Giroud, according to L’Equipe.

Although the Ligue 1 club are said to be eyeing Celtic star, Moussa Dembele, this is apparently in addition to Giroud, not instead of.

The France international has been linked with a move away from north London this summer despite only signing a new deal at the beginning of 2017, taking him up to 2019.

Giroud was allegedly unhappy with his lack of game time last season after playing just 1,780 minutes. In that time, he still managed to score 16 goals and assist seven in all competitions, meaning that he had a direct influence on a goal every 77.4 minutes.

Arsenal are said to be asking for £20m for the 30-year-old, who’s also been linked with Everton, Lyon and West Ham. However, Arsene Wenger seems determined to convince the big guy to stay, claiming recently that the striker fancies the challenge.

“Giroud fancies the competition. As a manager, you have him on your back, wanting to play,” the boss said.

“He fights hard, you know. I like the way he responds to what’s happening. He is focused and determined and showed that on the (pre-season) tour.”

With the addition of Alexandre Lacazette, Giroud certainly has competition, which the France international also recently said he relishes.

“Obviously, there will be more competition – even more than last year, but it’s always nice for a striker to feel the pressure,” he said.

“I always deal with it. 

“I’ve been through some difficulty this last year, but always succeed to bounce back.”

As the transfer window plods on, it’s looking less and less likely that Giroud will leave Arsenal. However, time will tell. Moves can come out of nowhere – remember Serge Gnabry’s transfer to Werder Bremen last year?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTmAq0gL1QU

Giroud has already scored his first goal of pre-season, against Western Sydney Wanderers. His celebration was muted but whether this was because he’s unhappy or him simply being modest because it was a friendly match against an team from the A-League, we don’t know.