How Arsenal turned down the chance to sign Aubameyang when he was just 21 years old

Arsenal missed the chance to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang because they had the likes of Nicklas Bendtner on their team reveals the Star.

The Gunners had been tracking Aubameyang during his loan spell from AC Milan at Monaco at the time and he showed them that he had the same attributes that have made him one of the world’s best strikers.

However, Arsenal decided against making the move for him because they had the likes of Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner on their team alongside Robin van Persie.

That decision would backfire later in the season when van Persie sustained an injury and the Gunners had to turn Andrei Arshavin into a makeshift striker for the rest of the season.

Aubameyang would go on to build a reputation for scoring lots of goals for himself at Borussia Dortmund which drove his transfer value up.

The Gunners would eventually sign Aubameyang seven years later in January of 2018, but he came at a high price with the Gunners breaking their transfer record to make the £56 million move happen.

He has paid back Arsenal’s show of faith in him with so many goals, he won the Golden Boot last season and he is still competing with Jamie Vardy for that gong this season.