Chelsea 'withdraw offer for Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud'

Chelsea have reportedly pulled out of the race to sign Olivier Giroud, despite having a bid accepted by Arsenal for the French striker.

The Premier League champions are said to have made a formal offer of £15m last week, which was accepted by their domestic rivals on Monday afternoon.

According to French outlet L'Equipe, though, Chelsea were left unhappy with the amount of time Arsenal took to respond and have since taken the proposal off the table.

Giroud's future therefore continues to remain in limbo, having allegedly turned down a switch to Borussia Dortmund earlier in the window.

The 31-year-old is finding playing time in the top flight increasingly difficult to come by since the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette last summer, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could join from BVB in the next 36 hours or so.

However, the same report indicates that Chelsea and Arsenal may yet open fresh talks if the Blues fail to bring in a targetman from elsewhere.