Chelsea want to take advantage of Olivier Giroud's situation at Arsenal by bringing the French striker to Stamford Bridge.

However, Arsenal are thought to be strongly resistant to the idea of losing Giroud - even on loan - to a Premier League rival in the same window as allowing Alexis Sanchez to join Manchester United.

Giroud is set to leave in January as Arsenal prepare to make Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the highest-paid player in their history as they close in on an agreement to sign the Borussia Dortmund striker.

The Gunners have made a third offer for the 28-year-old, understood to be worth an initial £55million with around £5m in add-ons, as they seek to secure a deal before Wednesday night’s deadline.

Arsenal are keen to keep the talks with Aubameyang separate to conversations regarding Giroud leaving Emirates Stadium.

Dortmund want a replacement for Aubameyang in place before allowing him to depart and despite the current impasse, Arsenal are confident a deal will be completed in time.

The Bundesliga club are keen on taking Giroud, but a further complication is believed to be the reluctance of his wife to move to Germany.

Giroud turned down a move to Everton last summer because his family were not keen on a move to Merseyside, and Chelsea are hopeful of taking advantage of his wife’s preference to stay in London.

But any potential move will be complicated by the fact that Arsenal do not want to lose another forward to a Premier League top-four rival after reluctantly letting Sanchez join Jose Mourinho's United - despite getting Henrikh Mkhitaryan in return.

Dortmund want a replacement for Aubameyang in place before allowing him to depart and despite the current impasse, Arsenal are confident a deal will be completed in time.

Chelsea have been chasing a deal for Roma striker Edin Dzeko, but negotiations have proved difficult with a clear difference in valuations.

The former Manchester City striker's age - 31- and contract demands have also given the Blues second thoughts when it comes to meeting Roma's demands over a fee.