Reports are that Arsenal has placed a £50m price tag for wantaway Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has declines to renew his contract.
The 30-year old Gabonese international is approaching his last year at the North-London outfit with efforts of getting him to sign a new contract continue getting slimmer.
Talks of an extension at the Emirates are reportedly stalling due to his wage demands that are upwards of £300,000 a week.
His major concern has been that Arsenal may miss out on the Champions League with the Gunners having an outside chance to the top-four slots despite lying ninth in the league.
Arsenal sit ninth in the league with 40 points, eight points from fourth-placed Chelsea.
The Gunners also have a game in hand against Manchester City.
Despite the rumors of his exit, Aubameyang states that ‘he is happy at the Emirates Stadium’.
Speaking to the club’s official website, the clinical striker said:
“It means a lot (to play here)/ when I was young I used to watch Arsenal because they always had great players and they won trophies as well.”
Aubameyang at Arsenal
Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a then club reported fee of £56 million on 31 January 2018.
He won the 2018-2019 Premier League Golden Boot alongside Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane, having scored 22 goals.
He was appointed the team’s captain in November 2019 after Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy following his angry reaction to getting booed by the Arsenal supporters during their Premier League game against Crystal Palace.
He scored twice in Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Everton to become joint top scorer in the Premier League, tied on 17 goals with Leicester’s Jamie Vardy.
Club’s position
The Gunners will be reluctant to let go of their skipper who has been on good form this season, scoring 20 goals in 32 appearances this season.
However, his wage demands pose a constraint to the Gunners and would be willing to sell him if their valuation was met instead of losing him for free next summer.
Mikel ‘hopes to convince him to stay’
Speaking to the press after Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Everton in February, Arsenal manager Mikel expressed hope that they would convince him to stay.
“He is our most important player, no doubt he has in this team. We will have to convince him to stay with us.”
Arsenal’s chances for UEFA Champions League?
Arsenal sit ninth in the league table with 40 points – 8 points behind fourth placed Chelsea, and with a game at hand against Manchester City.
The Gunners are unbeaten in five premier league games and have a ‘friendly’ run of fixtures compared to the other teams fighting for the top four spots.
Should Manchester City’s Champions League ban be upheld, fifth place could be good enough for Champions League qualification.
Captain’s voodoo
Should Aubameyang leave this summer, he will join a list of previous skippers that have left the Arsenal.
Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie all left while still holding the club’s captaincy.
Aaron Ramsey was one of the club’s captains, under Unai Emery’s helm, when he left for Juventus for free.
