Mikel Arteta has warned Arsenal that they will have to stop selling their star players if they want to become a top team again.
The Gunners face a summer of uncertainty over the future of a number of their top players.
The most important player whose future is yet to be decided is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gunners want to keep hold of the Gabon striker, but as his contract enters its final year, it remains unclear if the Gunners would cash in on him or not.
Arteta is reasonably confident that he will be able to keep hold of his captain beyond the current season, but the decision to get him on a new deal won’t be made by the Spaniard.
Arteta has revealed that he thinks that Aubameyang wants to remain at the Emirates.
Arteta said as quoted by Sun Sports: “We cannot be a team that has to sell its best player to try to bring in and improve our squad, that’s for sure.
“Things change in football very quickly but when you ask me in that moment how I feel about Auba’s future, I feel he wants to continue with us and keep helping us become a better team.
“It’s the energy I sense. He needs to feel he belongs somewhere, that he believes we can achieve the goals he has, individually and collectively, for a long time.
“He’s very settled in the city, his family are really happy here and he’s loved, respected and admired by his team-mates, which is a huge thing to have in any football club.
“That is what gives me positivity. I see the enjoyment that he’s having, the work-rate he’s putting in all the time and the decisions he makes.”
Aubameyang has been Arsenal’s top scorer since he joined them in 2018, and he is on course to win another Premier League Golden Boot this season.
What’s interesting about Arteta is how quickly he has adapted to being the manager rather than being second fiddle to Pep.
I’m impressed by his interviews. Answers questions but is happy to bat away questions about players that he wants to keep in house with a steely glare as he did recently. He speaks clearly and certainly with a vision in mind
He obviously wants Aubameyang to stay and is certainly making all the right noises. One can only hope Auba feels there is a good reason to commit to Arteta’s vision
I think he needs to stay
He has been our best player since he entered arsenal and he supplies us with the goals we need and that what we paid for