The consensus seems to be that Arsenal will be crazy to sell Aubameyang to Man United, but how much control do we have in the situation? The player’s contract expires in the summer of 2021 so if our new negotiating team are true to their word, they require the striker to fairly soon commit to a new deal. This time next year he will be entering the final year of his agreement, at that point we will get nowhere near the 70 million that United are willing to hand over.
The question is why would any of our stars want to stay? If us as fans can recognise the lack of ambition, so surely must it be a discussion in our dressing room? While we have the structure to pay huge salaries, some are equally motivated by winning silverware. As much as 45 million isn’t going to make gooners rush out and buy a new shirt, why is anyone going to be in a rush to commit their future to us?
For all of their flaws at Old Trafford, you would see any offer matched and a larger transfer kitty. The Gunners have rightly been criticised over the years for allowing deals to run down to the point we lost all power. But we should also remember it at times was a PR exercise to keep fans happy. It’s easy to forget that many fans preferred Sanchez being forced to stay when it meant he didn’t go to City. Not many were complaining when Ozil got a raise, more relieved we hadn’t lost another star.
There was huge pressure at the time not to cash in on Vanpersie so soon after the loss of Nasri and Fabregas in one fell swoop. Long term, most got the moves they desired, while we were left wishing we had cashed in earlier.
Yet here we are again scared we will lose another high-profile name to Manchester. We care too much that it will make us look like we are no longer a big club. Yet in reality, it’s not acting like a big club in terms of recruitment which is why I can see Auba tempted to go. It pains me to say this but why would he pick us over United?
And if he doesn’t sign an extension, it’s a case of sell now or another contract being intentionally run down.
Dan Smith