Speaking recently on the Football Writers Podcast, Jonathan Northcroft claimed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s contract renewal with Arsenal is ‘key’ in deciding the club’s ‘future direction’.
Since moving to Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for in what was a £57.38 million deal back in January 2018, the 31-year-old has gone on to prove a magnificent signing for Mikel Arteta’s side, scoring 70 goals and providing 15 assists over his 109 appearances for the Gunners.
Last season, the Gabon international bagged 22 goals and provided three assists over his 36 Premier League appearances, averaging a highly impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.03/10 – ranking him as the club’s second-best performer in the league, second only to Nicolas Pepe.
In addition to his fine league form, the striker also netted three goals in the Europa League and four goals in the FA Cup – two of which came in the club’s victory in the final against Chelsea.
As a result of this fine form, much has been discussed regarding a new contract for Aubameyang, particularly because of the fact that the £50.4 million-rated forward is entering the final year of his current deal.
And, while reports suggest that Aubameyang is close to signing a new deal, nothing has been confirmed as yet, and Northcroft believes that it is essential for Arsenal to get the deal over the line.
He said: “I think we’ll see very much an Arteta team, which will not feature, for example, Mesut Ozil, and I’m pretty sure he will continue going his own way.
“The key is going to be Aubameyang, who posted some hourglass emoji on social media this week, which made you think something was imminent and then nothing’s happened.
“So we’re all watching what happens with him, because Arsenal’s future direction is going to depend on whether he stays or goes.”
Do you think that Aubameyang is Arsenal's most important player?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
From Northcroft’s comments, it is evident how crucial he believes that Aubameyang is to Arsenal’s development as a team under Arteta, which, from looking at the 31-year-old’s stats over his two and a half years with the club so far, we think is a fair assumption to make.