Can we do things right for once? by Lagos Gooner
Hello Gooners all over the world. Tomorrow is gonna be another good day for Arsenal. With all our strikers starting to play well, I want to predict us winning tomorrow’s game by three goals margin. Tomorrow is gonna be another great day, yeah!
While we await tomorrow’s game, can we talk about something? Can we talk about Aubameyang and his importance to the team? Can we ask ourselves why we always fail to get it right with players and contract negotiations? I cannot believe that as big a club we are, we seldom get contract negotiations right. With Aubameyang, I expected us to have done whatever we needed to do to tie him down and save us from endless expectations and hopes. Correct me if I am wrong, but Arsenal is supposed to be a football giant, isn’t it?
When we bought Aubameyang some seasons ago, I was one of those who were surprised at the transfer. We were so lucky to get a proven goal poacher sign for us, when he could have signed for the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Getting Aubameyang was a master class; but keeping him for long at Emirates, was what caused me fears then. I felt we needed world class players and we needed to formulate a way of taking care of their contract renewal, without stress. Last season, during Emery’s time at Arsenal, we got it wrong in regard to Aaron Ramsey’s contract negotiations. When we could have bent a bit towards his demands and kept him at the Emirates, we allowed him go for free! That decision to me is not the type of decisions skilled club administrators would have taken in other big clubs.
Now, we are faced with many players almost running out of their contracts. We are faced with our attacking players battling contract negotiations with the club. Aubameyang, our highest goal scorer, has just months left on his present contract. By now, we should have succeeded in making him sign a new contract, but no, not Arsenal. We also start contract negotiations and at the end, we withdraw our contract offer from star players, who should be made to see reasons why they should remain at the club. I am not asking the club to bend to the players’ ridiculous demands, but is there any crime in the club lowering their standards a little, just to keep important players at the club? Aubameyang reminds virtually everybody of Thierry Henry; he has been on fire since he signed for us and it would be unwise of Arsenal to let him go. We need to tie him to a new contract, even if it means agreeing to some of his demands.
We need him! We are Arsenal and we are proud.
Sylvester Kwentua
Auba will do what he wants to do basically. If Arsenal dont meet his ambitions he will be off, he has never won a major league trophy and he wont be at Arsenal, thats a crime for a great player like him. Arsenal cant afford to keep him and i doubt he wants to stop, that a big dilemma and Auba will be sold for a nice fee.
Arsenal can not tie down players earlier in Wenger’s final years because players thought they can not win titles. Now the situation is players want assurance of CL which we also can not provide. I guess for Auba the reality is he will not extend his contract. We need to evaluate if the offer is good enough like 50 million or more. If less than keep him for a year more..
I understand perfectly what you are saying here but the reality is that if he stays for one year more his contract will be up and the club will have lost a selling on fee.
Clubs these days do not have the upper hand. In our case CL qualification hangs by a thread so Auba may we’ll get an offer elsewhere that he can’t refuse and go. Players want to win trophies
A great player none the less
Arsenal should do everything in its power to keep Auba. He is simply irreplacable and invaluable. MA can convince him that Arsenal is the right project for him considering we make it to the CL via the EUL or the PL and win the FA cup. Auba is a special player and wants to win titles and trophies and Arsenal should listen and consider his demands(not exhorbitant demands) and with Auba around, the improved players, new signings and MA the man behind the scenes, the sky is the limit for Arsenal next season.
Everything you have written is a wish list and it would be mine too
Everything about the financial structure of Arsenal suggests that to pay Auba what you & he feel he deserves will then impact significantly on what Arteta can bring in to enhance the squad elsewhere. It’s not a case of keeping him plus bringing in new top players to fill in the remaining gaps. Arsenal haven’t got that financial clout and it has to cut its cloth accordingly
At all cost, Aubameyang is a guaranteed 20+ league goals. Last season was an AVERAGE season by his standard and he still scored 22. An older aubameyang will still bang more goals than most strikers because he’s biggest asset is his attack positioning not his pace. he actually scored very little goals using his pace.
Big chance scored/missed:
last season 13/23
this season 13/8
I don’t want him to be sold… but at the end of the day it’s all about the money, money, money!! As QD stated – he left a CL team to join a EL team!
Would he be happy to stay with us, albeit with a much improved pay packet, if one of the big teams came sniffing around? I don’t know, only he can answer that.. I’m not sure we’re in a position to offer him a big increase though…