Arsene Wenger says Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang can fit in at Arsenal despite suggestions the Gabon international has been a difficult character to manage.
The Gunners are believed to be eyeing the 29-year-old as a possible replacement for Alexis Sanchez and aren’t put off by apparent disciplinary problems at Borussia Dortmund – the striker was recently dropped for the second time this season after missing a team meeting.
While coy on the link with Aubameyang, Wenger was clear that he does not question the player’s character.
“I have nothing to add to that,” replied Wenger when asked about possible negotiations.
“This kind of things, it’s better when it’s secret and you don’t come out on it. Announce it, when it’s over the line..apart from the deal we just spoke about, Sanchez – Mkhitaryan, that could happen. Nothing else is close.”
Asked if the player would fit in at London Colney, he added: “Yes, because character can be a very positive note and a very negative note.
“I believe overall, you look at the achievement of the player over his career and usually when the career has been very positive, the character has been used in a positive way.”
It’s not like ‘difficult’ characters have put off Wenger in the past. Sylvain Wiltord went on strike at Bordeaux to seal a move to Arsenal while the likes of Anelka, Sanchez, Adebayor and others have all scored bucketloads of goals for the Gunners despite suggestions they upset squad harmony.
Focken do it already.
Don’t know much about the guy from Bordeax, but P-E A is definitely someone who would be a great signing. Ship Sanchez and Ozil, if they won’t sign, and P-E A plus a CB who would improve the team upfront and not one of those potential players would be a good window.
Get AMN to play RB, Kolasinac LB. A new top defender if it could be managed, and the team would have improved.
Young and drunk. Great combo there.
I don’t understand why its taken us this long to finally have a pop at Aubameyang.
We should’ve been in for him years ago when he was looking to leave Saint-Étienne considering he was pretty much scoring a goal every other game.
I know we got Giroud in the season before, but still.. would’ve been nice to bring him in as well since we had sold the Dutch Skunk to United.
I didn’t get into Arsenal until my brother finally convinced me to start watching in 2011 but I freaking love watching the highlight where Martin Tyler(?) goes bananas with Wiltord’s name…
That, in Wenger language, means the deal is done!
Welcome Auba. May you revive your deadly partnership with Mhkitaryan.
How many league titles did they win together at Dortmund?
Unfortunately there time together at Borussia coincided with arguably one of the greatest Bayern teams in history. With Reus (or a season earlier Lewandowski) they had an attack to rival the very best, check the statistics. Admittedly they had to settle for second a few times and a Champions’ League runners up medal but let’s be realistic: A) had they been as strong in midfield and at full-back as they were in attack that silverware could’ve easily ended up in Dortmund B) Bayern have manipulated and controlled the German league for years, it’s not quite but very close to the… Read more »
*their
I’ve let myself down, I’ve let you down…
I’ve let us all down!
I know full well what they won together but if Arsenal want to start competing again we have to stop with this short-termism, write off this season, forget about Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan and use this new head scout to identify the next Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan, players in the 20-24 age range. The Sanchez gamble didn’t pay off, deal with it. If Utd want Sanchez he should be theirs for whatever the cash price is and they can keep Mkhitaryan and we can start building again. This isn’t happening because we have a managers whose short term needs are outweighing the… Read more »
1. Using an unimaginative cliche is rarely the best way to describe anything.
2. Who’s to say that the short termism is entirely driven by Wenger? It would also be really bloody useful to the club to get back into the CL as quickly as possible.
1. I don’t care
2. We’re not qualifing for the champions league this year unless we win the Europa and I don’t think we can register both for the squad.
Did you really think we hired this new head scout to him to identify those two as potential signings?
Dear god sir you might as well just stop watching football.
Whilst I completely understand your point about preparing for the future (I’m sure the vast majority of commenters here do too), there has to be a balance to our expectations, unfortunately. Hell, I’d love it if we splashed £200m on the likes of Pavon, Varane, Donnaruma etc and made sure next season and beyond we’re a force to be reckoned with. But sadly the reality is pressure is so ridiculous at present (and by no means am I making excuses for the club, but rather offering an understanding towards fans’ current mentality) if Arsene merely ‘saved the cash’ for the… Read more »
You and your insatiable optimism John C. What a fun filled life you must lead.
So you think Arsenal should just sell all their creative forwards, look at internal solutions, and identify diamonds in the rough? Would dropping into the Championship league convince you that this is a terrible idea?
Focusing only on the short or long term are equally bad–we do have to win games, and we have to build on success. Winning games in the short term is the easiest way to build for the future, in the simplest sense.
He’s 28 until he becomes 29. That’s how it works…
Slow down there Mr Science Guy, in English please
Not sure I understand. Could you dumb it down a little?
Lets get it done over with asap and focus on the real targets for the season..top 4 finish and Carabao and Europa League triumphs and lastly the contract extension of Ozil & Wilshere..that would be it for this season and an automatic positive start to the next #coyg
Are you not expecting any deal in the summer?
He’s 28 not 29 🙂
28 until he turns 29 I think
“if”
remains 28 until 18 June when he will turn 29
Up until which point, he will remain 28
But he’s in his 29th year though………. 😀
People thumbing down this running joke just underlines how legendary that viral twitter exchange was
Band aid.
Getting older players for short term fix hopefully to appease simple fans.
We need to be investing at premium if need be) into special players who can take us further.
Positions these players are coming in at are either covered for already or not what we need to add to bring out the best of this unbalanced team
Mhky, Auba, Lacazette. Pacy, inverting three forward, fed by Ozil. I can see how this is investing in something premium, especially as two of the forwards have a history of working together. Use your imagination man.
It’s clear that he’s closer to 29 than to 28. What are you guys smoking?
I an not smoking enough apparently.
He has had a good career already, I’d prefer him to have some edge.
Yes. Do it. Mikh replaces Walcott. Pierre replaces Sanchez. Sign Malcolm and keep Ozil and Wilshere and suddenly the summer rebuild looks less daunting. Simple….
To be honest I would disagree with everything you’ve just said. Judging by recent articles; Pierre is a direct replacement for Walcott -a fast finisher who doesn’t dribble and plays in behind. Malcom is a dribbler with a shot on him – like Alexis, and Mik is a silky creative type most similar to Mesut.
Auba doesn’t dribble.. WHAT?
I clearly said judging by recent articles.
https://arseblog.com/2018/01/arsenal-want-aubameyang-can-offer-risky/
“Despite his pace he isn’t the cleanest dribbler”
http://7amkickoff.com/index.php/2018/01/17/aubameyang-not-your-average-arsenal-striker/
“He completed just 20 dribbles last season”
Hard to argue with facts isn’t it? Next time don’t shoot the messenger.
Band aid options.
Aubameyang is not the technical player we need nor Mhykitarian.
We need two technical wizards out wide IMO to bridge the gap.
Anything-else is just sweeping issues under the carpet/short term quick fix.
Remember Welbeck? Same people on these boards making noise about his potential and his pace.
Lacazette was lauded by some fools as “world class”. World class will make his own goals not have to rely on ‘service’. May as well say Gervinho and TGSTEL did not ever get the right service.
everything is short term quick fix. Nothing in football is going to be long term. Players are going to cycle in and out ever 3 years now. Unless they are special no one will stay at clubs long term.
Welbeck isn’t great but he also doesn’t play his natural position.
You know your constant comparisons of Laca to Gervinho is just stupid? Laca scores goals serviced or not.
If auba and mhki comes ill rather have a defensive midfielder than malcom..would even take a nzonzi or some bloke like fellaini.
Fellaini’s an attacking midfielder.
Fellaine is a thug who puts on a football top occasionally.
i would take a thug anyday instead of xhaka or elneny.
Fellani is shit and we need better midfielders who can actually pass the ball. If only poor Santi was still playing.
Aubameyang – Lacazette – Mkhi
Ozil
Not bad at all, make it happen please
Great on paper but so was an attacking line of Lacazette-Ozil-Sanchez 5 months ago. The reality is that we look as impotent as we ever have in attack under Wenger
Part of the problem is we’ve hardly seen the 3 on the pitch together as much as we’d have liked. That and Alexis seems averse to passing to Laca.
That, And, Defense.
Looks good on paper doesn’t it, with Giroud, Malcom, Welbeck, Iwobi, Nelson, Nketiah backing them up.
LMAO
Well, it makes me L-M-A-O
I am a little mystified.
If we are going for him now, why didn’t we go for him in the summer, instead of buying Lacazzete (whose career match-goal ratio of 0.3 in France, compared to Pierre’s 0.7 for Dortmund)?
He’s clearly the better striker.
Well, could be because Dortmund were not in the mess that they currently are, and he had no intention to leave
… which makes me wonder, why would he be happy to join us given the current clusterfuck we are in?
Lol – I like that you are answering your own questions. Keep it going!
He probably knows that things will be changing in the future. Which is why Ozil seems to be staying put so far. Sanchez on the other hand always caught me as a short-sighted person. He moves clubs around a lot to try get as many medals as possible. Not that he’s a bad player or anything but it’s probably why he’s being so impatient.
Money.
Because Arsenal reacts to the Transfer market, they don’t dictate.
I would not be surprised to see Lacazette on the left, Auba in the middle (not Malcom), and Mhk on the right. In fact I wish Wenger would go back to 4-3-3 with a midfielder on right, Ramsey or Mhk, it worked well for us before he tried that awful 4-1-4-1 system to accommodate all his tiny midfielders.
Totally agree on the 4-3-3 idea, which would get the maximum number of attacking talents out there on the pitch. Ozil at ’10’ and one of Jack or Ramsey next to the new midfield anchor/destroyer/beast we are going to sign 😉
I agree. Lacazette moves a little deeper into the Alexis role, meaning ball retention improves up front whilst Lacazette is happy to drop deep and more prone to edge of the box shots, that leaves Aubameyang to play as a mobile target man in the middle, he’s capable of holding the ball up and is an incredible poacher in the box. And then in a few seasons Laca may well move into Auba’s spot? Mkhitaryan then on the right, potentially, and Ozil behind all three. I’d sure as hellfire keep Giroud, allowing Welbeck to move on, Oli still has a… Read more »
This should be fun but prepare yourself for heartbreak.
Exactly.
Prepare for disappointment.
Trying to fit square pegs in round holes.
Always clever.
Or u can also say, why didn’t we snatch Auba when he was at St Ettiene before going to Dortmund. If only I could turn back time (singing)
That’s why we’ve now got Sven, to try to identify players before they hit the headlines.
They are just identifying players they have leverage on.
…they are not doing the work to get players that will balance and take this team forward.
Band aid job.
Prepare for more problems.
People are so easily fooled.
I don’t think Laca played striker his whole career?
What is the use, that is the question.
I clearly remember people moaning about “Wenger after another young French nobody” when he was linked to us from Saint-Ettienne.
Which shows a)people are generally morons and b)man, time flies.
Yep. They said he wasn’t an upgrade over Ox and Welbeck despite having a 20 goal season. But hey…
Seriously? I honestly don’t remember that, but it sounds about right. At the time he was right in our wheelhouse in terms of the money we had to play with (I even remember Andrew and James talking about us having to go for players from £20m-£30m at the time, hence the bid for Higuain). I never understood why we didn’t go for him – seemed like a proper Arsenal player (has to be said that it didn’t seem like he was going to be crazy-prolific at the time, but that was why he wasn’t going for much). I thought the… Read more »
Going by goal statistic is always a fraud.
How’s Lacazette working out?
We need balance and right now having lost a wide pacy player in Walcott and Alexis one of our creative dribblers, we are adding players we don’t really need just to appease people.
Lol We transferred a player we don’t use on the pitch and your complaining about what a loss it is for us on the pitch? What are you watching? what world are you in?
Appease Santori? If we add players we dont’ really need is better then keeping a pacy winger that we don’t use.
I have always been dreading the inevitable departure of alexis (and possibly ozil) but if this really does happen and we get auba and mikhi it will really ease that burden. What has been mostly a depressing season has temporarily turned into a bit of excitement with this transfer activity, go make it happen Wenger.
Hmmm… if we pull it off looks like a lot of good business, but we still need a DM and at least one CB. Mustafi needs a real partner.
Another striker (when we just bought Laca) and a reject from United (like Welbeck), both at end of their careers.
Good prospect.
I’m really really really really bored with transfer speculation.
I’m loving it. We’re getting linked with really good players and really good prospects.
Sagna went on strike before he joined us. That’s how I knew we were really in for him.
The season before, Eboue had ousted Lauren from the team, had an impressive season and kept Gaucho in his pocket in the Champions league final.
I totally forgot what this was meant to be about but so is our football these days.
This potential signing has the feel of a husband buying his wife the biggest diamond he can find after been found in bed with the nanny. It’s got appeasement and guilt written all over it. All we’re doing is firefighting, trying to find the best and most expensive attacking player we can find who’s available now to replace our previous best attacking player. These are the actions of a manager who is only focused on keeping his job not one whose interested are building a balanced competitive Arsenal squad and the same can be said of Mkhitaryan. Our only interest… Read more »
What if he had Kim kad…. for a nanny?
Whatever floats your boat, she doesn’t do anything for me
Nothing does it for you John C! Apart from wallowing in a pit of your own misery maybe.
I find the increasing personal insults hurled my way amusing.
When someone can’t argue the point they attack the person, and that both pleases encourages me.
Thank you for bringing a smile to my face Danny!
You’re spot on John. It’s desperate. Where do these players fit in exactly? Wenger is just hanging round bins looking for the most high-profile players he can find to make-up for Alexis departure. Both Malcom and Aubameyanng have disciplinary issues, Mhkitaryan is lazy and weak and has been a disaster at Man Utd.
These are political signings, a complete waste of money and do nothing to address Arsenal’s underlying problems. The fact that the board is willing to sanction them should they ever happen is even more alarming.
We actually really have no clue who is in charge of transfer business anymore.
Ok John C, lets have a serious discussion.
Sanchez wants to leave (and a lot of it is about money if the noises from Man Citeh are true). With Sanchez forcing a move what would you have the club do?
@Wezza Seriously, I would stop, take a step back, think of what our teams most pressing needs are and where we want to take the club. The Sanchez and Ozil situation has been a serious fuck up, but they’re going and we now have to start again, so let’s use this opportunity to start again better. I don’t see how replacing your left winger with a centre forward and no.10 is the answer when we already have a centre forward and no.10. Lacazette isn’t scoring not because he’s crap it’s because we’re not controlling games, let’s identify why that’s the… Read more »
I am one of those who has accused you of being negative about everything. It was not a personal attack; I don’t care what kind of person you are. I was pointing out that, no matter the subject, your comments always have the same motivation: to show that every single thing done by Arsenal or any person connected to the club, in every category, is a horrible and corrupt mistake. That is an attack on your judgment, not your personality. I stand by it.
The thing is A Different George people like you think you’re being positive when you’re not, you’re perpetuating the defensive thinking that’s holding the club back. I want the club to show confidence and ambition.
When Wenger said we were keeping Sanchez and Ozil this season for football reasons what i heard was he wasn’t confident in his ability to replace them. Now we’re talking about getting Aubameyang, he’s almost 29, he’s not the future, we sold Thierry Henry at 29!!
Where’s the confidence? Where the ambition? Where’s the plan?
From a wife’s POV: I’ll have to hire more nannies
My life this week just consists of sitting at work refreshing Arseblog News, googling ‘Arsenal transfer news’ and watching ‘Malcom Welcome to Arsenal’ videos on Youtube.
And from there it’s just a simple case of following Youtube links to reach
“Mbappe welcome to Arsenal”
“Higuain welcome to Arsenal”
“Kalou welcome to Arsenal”
Isn’t the internet grand!
make it happen please. Try and keep Giroud as well if possible
Assuming no other player comes in and the proposed transfers go through then I’d love to see us unleash them both in a 3-5-2. Cech. Koscielny Mustafi Monreal. Maitland- Niles Wilshere Ozil/Mkhitaryan. Bellerin Kolasinac. Lacazette Aubameyang
Niles in central midfield alongside Jack n Ozil/Mkhi
Why go for a formation that makes you choose between Mkhi and Özil? We need more creativity and technical control on the pitch, Mkhi and Özil should both play, Özil in the middle and Mkhi on the right.
That was just a suggestion. There are lots of options for the manager. With Jack and one of Ozil/Mkhi + Lacazette we shouldn’t be short of technical control. What I dropped was a 3-5-2 to accommodate the two finishers. We could have a 4-3-3 to accommodate the two creators (who admittedly can finish as well) and one of Lacazette/Aubameyang
Wenger would probably put Auba or Laca on the left of a front three.
Auba-Laca-Mkhi
——Ozil
Xhaka-Ramsey/Jack
Nacho-Kos-Mustafi-Beller
Laca would play a False 9 with Auba frequently the beneficiary and with plenty of interchangeability of positions.
Like what he did with RVP and Eduardo/TGSTEL.
Can we also sell Welbeck and buy Richarlison with that money+some extra cash? Would be a great investment.
Who cares?
Really?
Auba and LAca up front is good but we need a strong midfield behind them
fuck the transfers this from vice magazine is far more interesting.
I fundamentally do not think Arsene Wenger would eat a worm, however, if he did – and he wouldn’t, but if he did, I just know, deep down, that he would eat it like this: bending perfectly straight in the middle, tipping his entire upper body forward to the ground, pecking it up like a bird would. That’s how Arsene Wenger would eat a worm. Fight me on it.
Gallas
I think we might see some new faces in our team after some decades……its only been rumors of signings but no signings for us…….they are just selling players not buying…..maybe under wenger our team will be a U-23 squad
Ok Arsene.You brought Miki and Auba. Now change this aweful tactic you are stuck with and hopefully things will change.
P.S Bring a dominant CB
Are there any dominant CB’s anymore? If there were surely Citeh would be looking to buy them instead of Evans. Or maybe they’re not available
Or maybe we should start spending a lot of money to buy them.
Aubameyang
Lacazette
Mikhitaryan Ozil Mahrez
(New DM)
Sead Mustafi Mavropanos Bellerin
(New GK)
A team like this would be nice but as long as Wenger is in charge, Welbeck will suffice.
Looks like big-mouth Wenger might have blown it as Dortmund are clearly angry at him for tapping up the player when the clubs have not been in contact regarding his availability. Again, the stench of hypocrisy fills the air as Wenger was complaining in August about other clubs talking about his players to the media.
Hypocrisy does indeed fill the air.
19 December 2017: “An excellent player. He is in the sights of the very, very large clubs of Europe” – Michael Zorc is definitely not talking about Emre Can.
17 December 2017: “Julian Nagelsmann has a contract with Hoffenheim and we will always respect that. We have some ideas and thoughts for the future, obviously, but for now everything’s been said” – Michael Zorc is definitely not talking about another club’s manager.
courtesy of the Guardian.
Oh please let it happen. Watching him for Dortmund he was a class above everyone else on the pitch.
Oh now pls!
Michael Zorc, head of staff at dortmund said today: “We feel it’s disrespectful to talk about players from other clubs.There is no contact with Arsenal. We think Arsene Wenger has enough to do to care about the perfomance of his own players.”(my translation, sry for my bad english, im dumb)
original quote(„Wir empfinden es als respektlos, sich mit Spielern anderer Mannschaft zu beschäftigen. Es gibt keinen Kontakt mit Arsenal. Wir gehen davon aus, dass Arsène Wenger genug damit zu tun, sich um die Leistungen seiner eigenen Spielern zu kümmern“)
https://www.transfermarkt.de/wenger-spricht-uber-aubameyang-ndash-zorc-bdquo-empfinden-es-als-respektlos-ldquo-/view/news/298174
Deal looks dead as BVB is pissed on what Wenger said.
exactly what i thought but this is a similiar situation to the Ousmane dembele case in the summer. It seems that Aubameyang doesn’t want to play for Dortmund anymore and 70mil for a player who don’t wanna play for you….i dunno.
Some secret. We are bringing in a player on the wane in Mhykitarian surplus to use at United (much like Welbeck before). Some people gettinge xcited by this but it smacks of panic and short term band aid at best. He isn’t even a wide player so we are again going to lose width and creativity form that end. Aubameyang is best through the middle but we already bought Lacazette who is having his own issues bedding in. No reason Aubameyang will have similar issues adjusting. If they take turns, it will be at detriment to each other in terms… Read more »
Honestly, I do not think so Aubameyang will fit in. Wenger likes a particular kind of players that are not necessarily what is needed in EPL. I hope he doesn’t end up like Sonongo. EPL is a completely different kind of league.