Lyon have played down talk of Yoann Gourcuff joining Arsenal.

Newcastle United have also been linked with Gourcuff but Lyon's club president, Jean-Michel Aulas, looked to dampen suggestions the club want to offload the 26-year-old this month to lower their wage bill.

"He'll almost certainly stay until June," Aulas was quoted as saying in France today. "After that, we'll talk about his value. But he's been injured, so it's not yet the time to talk about a transfer."