Possessing a star player such as Arsenal do in the form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang comes at a heavy price…
That heavy price is no less than a whopping £300,000 a week. A price that may prove too luxurious to an Arsenal side that may very well be forced into letting their goalscorer go prematurely.
The 30-year-old striker is in talks over a new contract with the Gunners and with good reason; he has double the amount of goals of Gabriel Martinelli who is the club’s second-top scorer and has almost single-handedly kept them inside the top half of the table… just. But, the player’s demands in these contract negotiations make it likely that an untimely move away from the Emirates is fast approaching.
And that’s exactly the problem. According to reports from the Daily Mail Aubameyang’s demands represent a 30 per cent increase on his existing deal. That existing deal – given he meets all of his bonus targets this season – stands at £200,000. The increase might seem rather preposterous given that Arsenal are currently sat in 10th place of the Premier League table.
Arsenal, even for a player as quality as Aubameyang, will struggle to justify agreeing to pay that amount considering they are sat below the likes of Sheffield United and Burnley. The club’s only hope of riches this season come from the FA Cup: the side face Chris Wilder’s team in the quarterfinals of the competition.
The player is well within his rights to ask for these types of demands, given his incredible impact since joining the club in January 2018 from Borussia Dortmund. No player has scored more goals for the club than he has since his move.
Of course, he won the Golden Boot last season and looks well on track to compete for that title again. Both the Gabon striker and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy lead the way in Premier League scoring with 17.
Arsenal’s number 14, though, has a combined total of 20 already this season in all competitions, netting three in the Europa League campaign.
With 96 goals for the club since he made the Emirates his home, there will be no shortage of offers too, should he not come to an agreement with the club soon. At the end of the season, he will have just 12 months left on his contract.
Masters of acquiring top-class players on a free deal Bayern Munich will be licking their lips at this opportunity.