Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail expects Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave Arsenal rather than sign a contract extension with the club. The Gabonese forward’s current deal only has until June 2021 to run and if he doesn’t agree to an extension, the Gunners could be forced to sell him this summer.
Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund back in January 2018 in a deal reportedly worth £57.38m (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk). Since his arrival, his goalscoring record has been highly impressive, the 31-year-old has scored 61 goals in 100 appearances for the club.
When asked the question in regards to the status of the contract talks between the two parties, Mokbel told the Touchline Fracas Podcast: “We know negotiations are relatively far down the line with Aubameyang – they’d have to be, he’s only got a year left. Those conversations have been had, the finances will obviously be an issue. It would be hard for them to find the kind of money for Aubameyang to say this is an offer too good to refuse. In that case, what they have to do is try and convince Aubameyang of Arteta’s project. I think Aubameyang is on board with Arteta and what he’s trying to do.”
“I think time’s running out for Aubameyang to win the top, top, top honours and I know the question that he is asking himself is, can I satisfy my career ambitions by winning trophies, by staying at Arsenal? Only he can answer that. I would suggest probably not, because I think the rebuild at Arsenal will take more than one season. You probably need three or four windows to fix the wrongs in that squad at the moment, and Aubameyang simply doesn’t have that time.
“Do I expect him to stay? I don’t, no.”
Do you believe there will be a breakthrough in the negotiations between the two parties?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
We can assume that most Arsenal fans will be desperate for the club to hold on to such a key player. He’s managed 17 goals in 29 Premier League appearances for the club this season despite the difficult campaign they have endured so far.
Looking at the Premier League table, its highly unlikely that the Gunners will qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, which would presumably have implications on the club’s ability to offer more financially, as well as match his ambitions on the field.
According to Transfermarkt.co.uk, he is currently valued at £50.4m and so if the negotiations fail, you could argue Arsenal may be better off trying to cash in on the player this summer rather than allowing him to leave for free next summer.