France coach Didier Deschamps has acknowledged that Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud is going through a tough time at both club and international level.
Deschamps had previously defended Giroud, 29, following the former Montpellier player's below-par display against Serbia last month.
Since then, Giroud was sent off in Arsenal's Champions League loss at Dinamo Zagreb, and has had to be content with a bit-part role in the league with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger currently preferring Theo Walcott as his lone forward.
"Olivier is in a tough position -- it's a difficult period for him," Deschamps told a news conference.
"He was sent off in the Champions League with Arsenal and couldn't play in their last match in the competition. He's not playing as much as before. Inevitably, his confidence has diminished."
Despite his limited game time, Giroud has already struck three times in the Premier League this season and Deschamps believes he will come good again.
"He started two games at the 2014 World Cup," the former Monaco and Marseille boss said.
"He was an important player and he can't lose that from one day to the next. The fact that he's here is also a way of telling him that I have confidence in him."
Meanwhile, Deschamps says it was "logical" to call up Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette to replace injured Rennes attacker Paul-Georges Ntep in his France squad.
Lacazette, 24, was initially left out of the France squad last week but was drafted in after Ntep picked up an injury against Monaco on Sunday.
Lacazette scored the only goal in Lyon's 1-0 win over Reims on Saturday but last season's top scorer and player of the year in France has been struggling for form this season.
He has been hampered by a back problem and also hit out at Lyon's treatment of him during protracted contract negotiations in the summer.
Deschamps said the forward has not been helped by Lyon's poor start to the season but he believes there are signs Lacazette will return to his best soon.
"Alexandre is better," he said. "He had a very turbulent summer for different reasons, but Alex hasn't lost his quality and his last match put a smile back on his face... it seems logical to me that he might come back in given the circumstances."
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, who was criticised by Lacazette recently, said that he expected the recall would represent a "very big breath of fresh air" for the forward.