Let’s have a realistic view of Aubameyang’s possible move to Barcelona

Listening to some of my fellow gooners reaction to Barcelona’s rumoured interest in Arsenal’s top scorer Aubameyang, I’m not quite sure what they want the club to do?

The answer of course is get the striker to extend his contract, but there are many examples in life where you might want a certain outcome but have to respect the answer your being given.

Realistically if we get to the summer with the player having just a year left on his deal; he’s forcing our hand (something Raul Sanllehi promised would never be allowed to happen again).

The reality is of course any player would be tempted by a move to the Nou Camp, especially when your current team sit 10th in the Premiership.

It’s hard not to understand his point of view. Even if he loves his time in North London, this could be a chance to earn more money and have a far better chance of winning trophies.

Some fans are acting like children having a tantrum for the prospect of selling our captain even being an option.

Yet any serious sum of money has to be to be considered when a contract is down to its final 18 months.

Very soon we won’t be holding any cards in this situation and we will see a repeat of the Ramsey saga; an asset lost for nothing.

You can’t blame Arsene Wenger this time.

If you’re asking the club to keep a 20-plus goal scorer for one more campaign for the sake of a fee, then essentially, you’re asking us to repeat how we handled Alexis Sanchez when he was refusing to put pen to paper.

How many with hindsight hammered the old regime for not taking Man City’s 60 million for an individual who clearly didn’t want to wear the shirt anymore?

Maybe you think we should go above and beyond to keep our best players. Yet you can’t then complain when we pay a salary over the odds like we did Ozil, then become obsessed with body language.

To me, to be a big club you have to act like a big club. Arteta talks about setting standards, one of those has to be not begging people to stay if they think the grass is greener.

Unfortunately we have become used to selling our big names, we have coped with seeing better players then Auba leave.

You could in theory take 60-70 million now, use that to fund a defender while getting a Cavani for free in the summer.

I hear some worried about Cavani’s age but Auba’s only 2 years younger so you would still be paying 200 thousand pound a week for someone in his thirties.

So, do we pay huge wages for someone with zero resale value like Ozil, force him to stay like Sanchez, or let him leave for nothing like Ramsey?

What do you want gooners?

Be kind in the comments…

Dan Smith

36 Comments

  1. Realistically, Barcelona and Real Madrid will not want Aubameyang. However, the big clubs in England, Italy and France might want him

    He can move if he wants to get a major trophy next year, but we must get a lot of money from his transfer

    Nevertheless, I think he would be more tempted with the big money in the contract extension at Arsenal

  2. Auubanyang maybe be in his 30s but fitness wise he is a cut above the average,he never gets injured he’s got at least 3 years in him look at Messi for example he’s still going strong

  3. Let him go, the fighting spirit, positive attitude and mental strength that Arteta is instilling in the team will only work with players who are willing to give it all on the pitch wholeheartedly, now if Auba wants to leave he must leave soonest and we’ll fight with fully dedicated gooners on the pitch with arsenal blood through their veins… We deserve better

  4. It makes no sense selling him in January.

    Fact is keeping him till the end of the season is the best Option. i still feel we can end the season on 4th or 5th. 4 wins on the bounce and the league table changes. We should rather spend 90m pounds to get Thomas Partey and Lewis Dunk. 60M Pounds and 200K per week wages will get Thomas Partey from Athletico. 35m pounds will get Lewis Dunk. Two tall and strong Players. Partey is built for the EPL. Tall, Strong and a good passer of the ball. we can add Rakitic as well to the mix. Partey, Lewis Dunk and Rakitic. And we can make Top 4. Squad depth is key

  5. Dan, I’m being kind. Seeing how we fawned over Ozil and Sanchez still gives me the shivers and I liked Ramsey and was sorry to see him go for nothing.

    I’m no tactician but others on here seem to be so a big transfer fee could just be what is required for the club to kick-start their revival with the necessary talented replacements.

    1. SueP, excellent post and fawning over Ozil and Sanchez is 100% correct, exactly what happened and look where it got us?

      It was our fans who demanded we try and keep both of them and led to the outrageous reported contract that Ozil now has and, of course, Sanchez earning another reported £500,000 a week at manure.

      Neither player was worth anything like these astounding amounts of money, yet it showed that other clubs, just like our own, will make these decisions as part of their long term strategy, so they must have budgeted for them surely?.

      As much as I also believed we should have kept Ramsey, would we not know have the same reactions to any performance not deemed suitable as another chance to attack an individual with an obscene salary?

      That leads me on to Auba and his contract negotiations – which obviously will include a mega increase, if we are to match barca or real deals.

      I don’t envy the club, because whatever decision they take, it will be deemed as the wrong one by our ” tactically minded” fan base, but in the end, auba will decide…just as Sanchez, Ozil, Ramsey etc etc did, something that seems outside the thinking of certain fans, who seem unable to grasp and understand that simple fact – my opinion is to sell him at an enormous profit and, if kronkie agrees of course, invest in our young strikers and use the money to buy defenders (who are still available at sensible prices) but of course I am not a tactically minded fan, just an Arsenal supporter.

  6. You are making lots of sense and Arsenal none at all for a long minute.

    To start season with no option at all at RB with Bellerin injured too, is simply unreal, we actually sold only option we had in Jerkinson, in form too.

    Same goes for LB, Tierny was and still injured, known for being fragile; if Kolas gets injured, we play Saka! It should not happen at all, but a back up to start season with!

    What about CB? Kos aging certainly but our best defender for years, instead to bring him a top defender to play him with, we let him go and get Luiz!!!

    I hope you start to address relegation fight we are already in, because no one seems or wants to see it.

    Topics :

    Can we be relegated? (2 games away from 19th spot today)

    Can we fight it? (Against hungry teams already in survival mode)

    This is our reality today, coming from a major issue: wrong formation! Results will remain same as long as formation is wrong!

    Arteta is awful on that end, to keep playing sokra-luiz as first choice highlight it! Useless to get team’s spirit back if results are same; spirit falls right back again at some point. A lost at Burnley will be a blow, a draw be frustration, both bad for spirit!

    1. We won’t be able to fight relegation because we are not at used to do so, nor have team for that, but mainly because we not at all conscious of it when other teams concerned at all in survival mode! Southampton was last on table, infront of us today, that’s real!

      Arteta and everyone focused on top4 makes it even more sad! We can’t even make Europa league, but closer to get relegated!

      In less than two years Wenger left, we are already heading to championship. Last year, Emery made a Wenger miracle like, helped by teams all performing bad but we were already falling apart! We not able to compete for a decade, we have no money, Wenger had to rely on developing kids to bring and make a complete first team, making it to CL final!

      That shows how good Wenger was and difficult his job was to compete with no money! He loved this club so much, or would have been gone to Real years ago, with team to compete and win all titles!

      Auba should not make same mistake but leave if he has the opportunity, Laca should have as well, just as Ozil with Wenger! Look at them now!

      Wenger was more than a coach, he was the captain of our ship, it is none anymore and why we sink! We have a coach but no Captain in our ship!

      1. All the current catastrophic situations are Wenger’s curse. Fans including myself were very rude to him after 2 years of missing CL and cried for his head. He left his home in an embarrassing state. Now fans are even prepared to face relegation threat…whom to blame? Wenger? Who will change this uncertainty? Bring back the old guardian to his home….Start campaigning “Wenger in”

        1. I really really hope, SadGunner, that your ridiculous comment was tongue-in-cheek. Otherwise it boggles the mind how anyone would want to bring back the architect of our demise.

          1. SAGooner, read the post again…he didn’t mention kronkie or gazidis once, let alone the board, who sold the soul of our club to kronkie for their own bank balance interest, after sacking David Dein in the same ruthless manner they used with UE, another name he didn’t mention.

            I agree that AW would never come back as a manager/coach, he’s too busy trying to sort out the corruption within fifa, while The Arsenal are trying to bring back top four, CL football and FA cup final wins.
            I wish MA the very best in trying to emulate his first twenty year tenure.

  7. IMO I believe the best option for Arsenal is to keep Auba until the summer, because there is still a lot to play for this season. We can still finish 4th this season because none of the teams above us are consistent. Then sell him in the summer and buy Upamecano with that money.
    I didnt intend on speaking about Arsene Wenger in this article but you did. So here is how I feel. I can’t shake off the feeling that Mr. Wenger and Ivan Gazidis have a hand in the predicament we find ourselves in regarding the Aubameyang saga. They were the ones that gave him a 3 and a half year contract. We are talking about a world class striker that had proven himself in the Bundesliga. And you give him 3 and a half year contract!!?? Who does that? Indeed, we find ourselves in this situation because of the incompetence of our past regime, and now Edu has to do some damage control

    1. Damazane, have you considered that Aubameyang might have only wanted a three and a half year contract?

      In my experience, when offering a contract, both parties have a say in what goes into said contract – I havd no idea, just as I humbly suggest, you have neither.

      To keep on blaming this person or that individual is just ridiculous and complete guesswork and, unless we have facts and figures, a complete waste of time.

    2. 3 and a half year is a long contract! And remember that he was 28 at the time he signed it. 4 years would have been the most any club in the world would have agreed upon, or even suggested for a player at that age, and position, seeing how speed and stamina drops around 30. incompetence would have been not signing him, or suggesting a shorter contract. But then again why no blame Wenger for the Corona virus.

  8. I believe they want to loan him, which is totally never going to happen. They are trying their unsettling mechanisms.

  9. Interesting post admin,I am all for cashing in ,but only if it is going to help Mikel get the players he wants to get this club back into the Champions league, however I would not be too sad to see Auba stay but I think realistically he will leave next summer with the clubs blessing if Sanlehi keeps to the master plan.The big worry for me is that Kroenke doesn’t allow the fee to be re-integrated into the transfer budget.

  10. I dont understand why we cant just give him a massive sign on fee (10-20m) pay him 150k a week and add bonuses (30K a goal or something). Gives him the money necessary to stay and retire comfortably. Gives him incentive to maintain his form. Most importantly, if things don’t work out. He becomes EASY to sell. Cavani is old and finished but he’s become easy to sell but ozil(arsenal) and Sanchez (United) are becoming impossible to sell and the only difference is the wages

  11. If we could get a huge fee, then sell him. It would be bad short term, but better long term. Slot in Martinelli instead, and hope that laca steps up.

    Short term keep him, but with the risk of getting peanuts or no nuts at all.

    4th or 5th place is very remote this season, with or without Auba. Selling him now, comes with a risk of us slipping further down the table. This season is lost, now its damage control and building for the season to come. Sure loosing Auba could also be a loss in morale.

    But if it means that we get funds to strenghten areas that need strengtening, sell him!

  12. Barcelona still think they can bully English clubs they already played dirty when they chased Fabregas and played hard ball over Denis Suarez if they want Aubameyang tell them we want Griezmann and Dembele otherwise look elsewhere.

  13. The current on the field situation at Arsenal is not as gloom as being painted in some quarters. But I must say it is neither a rosy situation that us Gooners can be proud of.

    Notwithstanding, Arsenal relegation talks to the Championship is a mere talk for the sake of talking. Because it won’t happen to Arsenal. Not this season and the other seasons that will follow. Arsenal is too much a big Premier League club side to face relegation battle. They may not in the interim win the PL title as they are currently struggling to put their apt together to recover back their lost best form of the past. But even this, they won’t finish below the 6th position this season if the worst come to the worst for the club. In fact they could still make the top-four finish this season as this possibility is still very much on the table.

    Well, does Aubameyang wants out this January window and are Arsenal prepared to cash in on his leaving the club if the offer is too good to resist? Say in the region oi 80 – 100 Million Pounds this January transfer window. But with whom will the club replace him with in the team very well if he leaves? Martinelli? Well. I don’t know. But however, if Arsenal can find adequate internal solution to Auba’s leaving this January but not have to enter the transfer market to spend the money that they’ve made in selling Auba that will be okay and fine. Arsenal can then sell Auba this January window to cash in but very big.

  14. If he doesn’t want to stay then cash in, I really think that it is that simple. If the offer was incredible enough do it now, otherwise summer.

    Ideally sell him on the continent so he won’t bite us in the ass at least twice a year for a few years.

    If he wants to stay – pay him and keep him please. But the club needs to set the alarm clock and if nothing happens by X – then sell.

    Personally, want him to stay but we need the cash and can’t risk losing him for free. Same goes for every player – Laca will be up in an extra year – same approach.

    1. and the wild card is that we have to hope that management will a) use the money and not put it into ownership payouts; and b) spend better than we have over the past number years..

        1. My point is that we have been wasting money for a long time and I really hope that we don’t do it again with bad buys.

          And do you really think that Kronke is taking a loss on his investment, that his only win is in valuation and sell on and the real estate (which to be fair ain’t nothing at all)? None of his teams “make money” yet his company’s value has grown and grown. He is not counting stamps at home to pay for dinner. Don’t think that he is constantly remortgaging the land and infrastructure to pay for houses and jets and such (like him or not as the Arsenal manager – and I am not a fan – he is a very smart businessman).

          Sports teams are the easiest business in the world to hide money and profit, so on that count you are absolutely right, I don’t know exactly how the pie gets divied up- I am confident that the owner is making out okay though 🙂

  15. Bonjour!
    C’est possible mais peut etre Auba voudrait jouer en Espagne avec Barca ?
    That’s my best French out of the way. Difficult choices for the club to make -to cash in or not cash in .. that is the question There are other younger players in the wings

  16. losing him for nothing in 18 months is crazy. also extending his contract is crazy- at 31 he will want a 2 years extension and a bigger salary, that means he will be on 200K+ until he is 34- we don’t need another Ozil.
    So the question is to sell him now or in the summer. If we can get a good swap, like Isco or Umtiti, I say do it now.

  17. Too much disruption in the team to sell him now, unless there is an offer Arsenal cannot refuse. The choice is Arsenal’s, not Auba’s. Auba is not the type of character like Sanchez who will let whether he stays or goes influence his effort on the field. He knows that if he doesn’t score regularly for the rest of the season, his value and position of strngth for wage negotiation will be reduced.

    1. SAGooner, that didn’t stop sanchez obtaining a reported £500,000 a week contract did it?

      It also didn’t stop him going on strike and causing mayhem before he joined us did it?

      These days, players will always have the upper hand…as AW predicted so correctly yet again.

  18. i am an 76 year old gooner who during my lifetime seen many great players play band leave arsenal once they showed the desire to leave,so my opinion is this,whoever wants out ,let them go,who maltese have a saying a POPE DIES ,AND ANOTHER WILL TAKE HIS PLACE if you know what i meant,no one is bigger than ARSENAL.

  19. A massive sign on fee to auba? yes i agree,if he gets on the pitch and win games on ghis own without his friends giving him passs ,to creat chances for him to score,take the corners,and goal kicks,throw ins all by himself.Dont be naive my friend remember that he is not alone in the starting 11 and wants his friends help in every game.if its for me its 100.000 from keeper to the last players in the squad.even wages

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