Arsenal have gotten themselves into a jam when it comes down to players contracts again, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set to enter into the final year of his current deal in the coming months.
You would have hoped that we would have learned from our recent position, when we had both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil approaching the last year previously, in which we were forced to offload our superstar, and snookered into paying over the odds to extend with the German.
That situation could not have ended any worse, and looking further back from that we should have learned from the Robin Van Persie instance, when we ended up allowing our best striker to leave and join rivals Manchester United.
A similar scenario could be unfolding this summer unfortunately, and our hands are tied somewhat if the player simply refuses to extend his contract like the Dutch striker did. This has led us to seek out alternative options in the transfer market should we be forced to part ways.
“Arsenal are in a horrible position when it comes to sorting out Aubameyang’s contract offer. Barcelona and Real Madrid have been mentioned and they have the funds to buy him,” Charlie Nicholas said.
“There’s been a lot of talk of Aubameyang being sold, but Edouard would not be the answer.
“He plays differently, more like Lacazette. Aubameyang is about pace and movement. Although he likes to play the No9 role, he does not play it as Edouard could. Similarly, Edouard could not play in the position that Aubameyang does, out wide on the left.
“He wants to be the key figurehead of the team as the link man through the middle. For that reason, I do not see Arsenal targeting him as a replacement for Aubameyang.”
“Edouard is too similar to Lacazette, and if he was to move, it paints a different picture. Edouard would then fit into the Arsenal team as the No9. You would still need to give him time as he’s not been playing every week against Premier League quality.
“His attitude has improved sufficiently enough to tell me he will become a top player but I am not quite convinced teams will yet be looking at him as a £40m player. But the current market, with the coronavirus likely to impact the value of players, this will play a crucial part.”
Odsonne Edouard has been in exceptional form this season, scoring 28 goals for his club as well as adding 14 assists to those figures, and is short odds-on favourite to land the Scottish Premiership Player of the Year award, the Scottish Golden Boot on top of the Premiership title with his club.
He is thoroughly tipped to move onto a bigger club in the coming window, with Arsenal most strongly linked, but could he have an instant impact for our club next season?
The 22 year-old would have some might shoes to fill should he arrive as a ‘replacement’ for Aubameyang, but in reality, we already have other players who could step up in order to make his transition smoother.
Martinelli, Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah would all be looking to step in the absence of the Gabon international, with all three having impressed under Mikel Arteta of late.
Edouard’s arrival could well be the long-term answer to all our problems should Aubameyang go, and should we be forced to allow Pierre to leave, I would like to see the Celtic man brought in as his replacement.
Is there any better options to ‘replace’ Aubameyang’s goal threat?
Patrick
No one will leave because they have contracted salaries they won’t get any where else.
But we have to let Aubameyang go because he can go on a free next season. So clubs will offer low bids. Cheap youngsters, cheap oldsters, freebies and loanee’s on the way again and if we do spend we probably get another flop like Pepe 🙁