Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is believed to have rejected a move to Saudi Arabian sides Al Hilal or Al Nassr, but could still leave Arsenal in the current window.
The Gabon international hasn’t featured for Arsenal since being dropped for his latest disciplinary breach in early December, being stripped of the captaincy and finding himself out of the playing squad since.
Auba was then released early for the AFCON, but contracted Coronavirus ahead of the tournament before heart lesions were found after that, and he has since returned to north London for medical checks.
The forward has since been cleared for action, and was linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, where clubs were believed to be willing to cover his salary in full if they could take him on loan, but the Telegraph insists that he has no interest in such a move.
The same report adds that there is six clubs in Europe that hold an interest this month however, but claims that none are likely to meet the entirety of his wage demands.
While it may make sense for the decorum of the squad to offload Auba, who clearly has upset the manager at the very least, without a replacement we would be leaving ourselves extremely tight on numbers in attack.
We also have the issue of both Lacazette and Nketiah being into the final six months of their own contracts, which adds further distraction to the pair, but if we can sign a strong striker than we may as well allow PEA to leave, as long as a substantial chunk of his wage is covered of course.
Have Arsenal missed Auba over the last 4-5 weeks? Can we afford to let him go without a replacement being signed?
Patrick
Arsenal 0-0 Burnley Arteta Post Match Press Conference – “We didn’t have the quality”