Arsenal will spend in the region of £100m to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang if the Gabon striker leaves, reckons Mail Online.
The Gunners are closing in on getting the former Borussia Dortmund man on a new deal, but they face the risk of losing him this summer and it will have been hard for them to replace him.
The striker has been the club’s top scorer since he joined them from Borussia Dortmund and there seems to be no stopping him.
He won the Golden Boot last season and he finished a goal short of the award in the just-concluded season.
Teams like Inter Milan and Barcelona are still considering a move for him, but Mikel Arteta has remained confident that the striker will sign a new deal with the Gunners.
Jeorge Bird of Mail Sports hails the reports that Arsenal will keep the striker after offering him bumper wages and claim that it will have cost them £100m to replace his goals, had he left them.
He writes: “If Aubameyang ended up leaving it would have cost Arsenal a hefty amount to replace him. Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez is worth around £100million, while Lazio’s Ciro Immobile would cost a significant fee.
“Instead, Arsenal are set to keep Aubameyang and still have some funds to invest in the team. It is clear that, despite their FA Cup success, Arsenal’s squad still requires much improvement, but at least now they have a foundation to build from.”
William’s transfer is completed….
Wednesday announcement if not tomorrow
And Aubamenyang contract extension will be announced soon. Hopefully during this week…
I agree with Jeorge, Laca+Jovic+Morata can’t make 1 Auba. Give him whatever he wants.
It was this exact thought process that made the club prefer to extend Ozil’s contract rather than opt to replace him. At the time, the club considered it a better option to pay him £350k p/w rather than sign a replacement with huge sign on fees + wages.
At the time, the fans had urged the club to “do whatever was necessary” to keep the player.t We all thought it showed ambition. No one could tell at the time how his performance would be in the years ahead – not the management, not the fans.
We have the exact same scenario playing out now with Auba. We can only hope for the best in this case. But we should be aware that, from the player’s angle, he’ll milk this contract to the very end regardless of his future performances. This is most likely his last big contract and he won’t give it up just because the fans think he should.
Ozil’s case was dictated by the exit of Alexis.
The club probably felt that losing two top players would be devastating to its image. And they were cowed into giving Ozil an unmerited contract.
Auba, to me, is a different kettle of fish. He has proven his near indispensability to the Arsenal cause. And I think that guy still has a lot of football left in him.
So keeping him is worth all the cost.
One can’t replace him period!
Either sell him for great defenders and concede less, or keep his scoring. It is either or….