Thursday, October 3, 2024

Arsenal facing tough decision as conflicting Auba contract stories surface

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is less than a month from entering the final year of his Arsenal deal. Club captain, top scorer and the lynchpin of the side – it leaves us in something of a pickle.

Contract negotiations that began during the Emery era fell apart as the Spaniard’s side imploded from April 2019 onwards. Champions League football was supposed to be the carrot we used to persuade Auba to stay and also the most viable means of funding his salary increase.

After defeat in last season’s Europa League final our hand was weakened considerably and it continued to get weaker and weaker with each passing day.

While Mikel Arteta went public with his desire to keep the player, he can’t have been oblivious to the obstacles in the club’s path. Barcelona circled in January and then we crashed out of Europe.

The coronavirus pandemic has complicated matters for both parties.

Arsenal have gone cap in hand to the first team squad asking them to take pay cuts and it’s forecast that a full season of football behind closed doors could see us lose over £140 million. How do you offer a player an attractive pay increase against such a backdrop? You probably don’t.

It’s also a head-scratcher for Aubameyang too. Very few clubs will come out of the current situation unscathed and most, even the biggest in Europe, will use the situation to force down prices in salary talks. Auba might get lucky and find a generous benefactor willing to lavish him with a pay rise but it’s more likely that courting clubs will point to him being 31 and go the other way. In some cases, their prestige will work to their advantage. You can imagine them asking if he wants to win trophies / play Champions League football or buy more cars.

Last summer, Arsenal’s football executive committee said they would look to sell players stalling on new deals to prevent them leaving for free. If Aubameyang doesn’t think the time is right for a move – perhaps the stability of a familiar environment is bearable for another 12 months? – then he could well test that stance. Leaving on a free in 2021 just as the transfer market emerges from the shadow of the pandemic could be more attractive, even if it means another season in the Europa League.

Raul and Edu would be pretty helpless to stop that. Just look at the Ozil situation. Their next best option might be to get him to agree to a heavily-incentivised short-term extension in the hope he helps us achieve Champions League football. Then we could look to sell next summer. But when do you make that approach? The season isn’t over and an upturn on the pitch could make talks a bit easier.

With so much unclear, it’s probably why there are conflicting reports doing the rounds about us re-opening negotiations. Yesterday, L’Equipe said we were working on a deal. Julien Laurens, writing for ESPN, was quick to rebut the suggestion citing sources inside the club.

Taking to Instagram yesterday, Aubameyang wrote: “Don’t listen [to] ’em, listen music better.”

Make of that what you will.

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Qwaliteee

Yet another mess to add to our collection. What an absolute joke this club is when it comes to transfers. Utterly embarrassing. I am so done with these long drawn out sagas that invariably end with us getting ripped off with the regulation omelette slapped across our collective face. Nothing will change whilst that American cunt is at the helm. Kroenke Out.

Andy

Just get what you can for him and try our luck with Martinelli. But ffs do it quickly.

Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia

Martinelli is brilliant but young players are great in games but do not get you win anything at the end of the season.

atom

How did that statement work out for Alan Hansen? Seriously though we’re going to have think about how we set the team up if everyone stays as Saka/Martinelli look like they have earned significant playing time on the front line but both are competing with Auba/Lacazette.

assistantref

Well, that’s not a big problem for us these days, it it? Not like we’re going to win anything either way.

OsloGooner

What are we going to do without his goals? It’s
20 goals a season we are talking about here..

Hopefully Laca, Martinelli, Pepe and Nketiah can find their goal scoring form and takeover were
Auba left.

Peter Story Teller

Problem is his 20 goals have been meaningless over the last few seasons as we have been conceeding twice as many at the other end.
A dangerous game to put all your goalscoring expectations in one basket. What if he has a long-term injury? Same difference! The others you mention have to grab an equal number of goals but shared out between them.

OsloGooner

I agree. It’s sad to se him leave but I
think all of our options are used up atm.

The club has repeatedly told us that they will not let any player go into the last
year of their contract.. but here we are
again.

Just don’t let him go to another PL-club.

Qwaliteee

Chaps – you could have Messi Henry and Pele smashing them in and Mustafi would still make sure we somehow lost 8 – 9. We need Auba to stay. Mustafi, not so much. No prizes for guessing which one knwho’ll be definitely running out in our latest dodgy third kit next season….

Peter Story Teller

Auba is entering the Autumn of his career whilst the future is Martinelli and Nketiah. Why not use the current turmoil to blood in the young guns so that they are more experienced when we have something to play for? We should learn from our previous contract catastrophies and if Auba wants to leave allow him to go while he still has some re-investment value.

Abhi

Young players learn from experienced ones. If auba left, we’d very obviously lose those 20 goals, but what about the intangibles?I honestly think Marinelli and nkhetia lose more than they’d gain if auba left this season. I hope arsenal can convince him to extend his contract for a year. It would be good for the club the fans AND the young players who need role models to develop well.

Abhi

Just look at the YouTube video of Buffon giving Mbappe an earful for showing up late once for practice for PSG.. Winners breed winners, and in an arsenal squad that I’m sorry to say, is lacking in this department, auba is DEFINATELY a winner.

Hantal

Sell him for what we can, we can’t afford a wwage increase so the money should be freed up to pick up a couple of prospects

Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia

A couple of unproven prospects?

Chuffy

He’s the only player who is wanted by other clubs. Unless agents actively find clubs through however they do their dodgy deals, I think we’ll struggle to shift any of our vast dead weight. The market is going to be dry for the upcoming season and I think aside from Mari and maybe Soares, there’ll be little movement. I cant see us getting into europe based on our tough run in so that’s even less money. I feel for Arteta, because we’re in a very unhealthy place as far as getting back into the champions league goes with this bunch… Read more »

Boydy

We have consistently failed to support the world class attacking talent we’ve had by building around them. When Auba leaves he’ll become another RvP, Fabregas, Nasri, Adebayor, Sanchez (and to an extent Gnabry) who all left for better opportunities they couldn’t get here. I’m not suggesting Auba will leave in an awful manor, just that we actually need to start building around these guys. We’ll miss his goals next season, but equally we’ll also make room for Martinelli & Nketiah to step up, and hopefully have the funds needed to add a solid midfield option so tighten things at the… Read more »

Ya Gooner

We desperately need a creative midfielder. More than a defensive midfielder imo

Qwaliteee

Ya Gooner – We need to sort out our defence first mate. It’s over a decade since Adams and Campbell left and we’re STILL leaking goals for fun, due a never ending stream of clowns masquerading as professional centre halves. If Auba goes and Mustafi stays in the side, then start praying. Mid table will seem like paradise.

Futsboller

Arteta cleaned up the defence, with the same personnel. 15 games in charge, and we let in 12 goals. Quite an improvement. He’ll build on that as he continues to work on making this team his own.

Qwaliteee

I’ll hold you to that when the Mustafi Circus hits the road again. Our defence is still woeful and the reason players like Sanchez and Ramsey are no longer here and why Auba is stalling on signing. How many more Mustafi howlers is it going to take before you people wake up?

Tony Hall

As far as I am aware he hasn’t asked to leave and in the current climate he may be happy to stay on the same salary. I mean its hardly small is it?

Tony Hall

The transfer market will not be the same after this. I do not see clubs paying stupid fees for players and crazy salaries anymore as they will not be able to afford it!

allezkev

It’s all well and good saying sell Aubameyang if he doesn’t sign, because he doesn’t have to go anywhere.
I don’t think that Ozil would still be an Arsenal player if it was that easy.

I think that he won’t sign but that he’ll stay and see what the landscape looks like in 12 months time and then he’ll decide what he wants to do.
12 months is a long time in football and by then Arsenal may decide that his salary is better spent on a new contract for Martinelli, Nketiah and Smith Rowe anyway?

Mizog

If your of a certain age you’ll realise it really does not matter if he goes! Wright Anelka Henry
van Persie Sanchez and now auba! The next goal
scorer is either already at the club or just round
the corner!!

Onenil

We have some good candidates in Eddie Martinelli and Saka too.
Maybe crazy but if we could swap Auba for Cortinho we would get the creativity we need to supply the young guns.

Peter Story Teller

John Radford, Malcolm MacDonald, Frank Stapleton, Alan Smith
Bloody hell I am old!

Nicholas Hattersley

Cliff Bastin,Ted Drake 😉

Peter Story Teller

I cannot believe you are that old!!! 🙂
At least I saw all of mine play

assistantref

Why would Auba want to sign a new contract if he isn’t inclined to stay for the long term? He’s on huge money already, it’s not like that can be increased. He’ll also earn far more money from leaving on a free in a year than he could possibly earn from better terms, even if we could give them. The club has proven conclusively at this point it is not capable of sticking to its “sell if they don’t renew” claim. Everyone, including the players, know it’s just bluster. If Auba wants to leave on a free he’ll leave on… Read more »

BobWIll

Its very straightforward actually. If we cant convince him to extend his contract he has to be sold. It’s the painful reality

Man Manny

Aubameyang can leave if he does not want to play for us anymore. I want people who are committed to the shirt like their lives depend on it.
A good replacement for Ozil and an enforcer behind him, will guarantee goals for whoever leads the line, not forgetting the small matter of Pepe whom I expect to come in leaps and bounds in the coming seasons.

Vivooty

The question is whether he wants to stay and at what terms….If he doesn’t want to to stay we don’t have options.Sell him quickly and rebuild the team by reinvesting on quality players…If a top quality striker doesn’t want to come here or not available,we should go for a quality Central defender or Central midfielder…

Martin

I’d be sad to see him go but if you offered me the chance to buy Zaha to replace him and give Martinelli, Nketiah, Balogun or John-Jules a chance upfront I would take it

Sell! Sell!! Sell!!!

Mwenda

His hesitation mean less interest, better sell & give chance to youngsters.

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