Real Madrid will want to finalize a deal on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang possibly in the summer and reports said Arsenal could be convinced to business with the Spanish giants. The Gabon striker holds a market value of €50 million, which will be wiped out if Aubameyang will end his contract next year without an extension.
Reports said the La Liga club has already reached out to the Emirates and if the Gunners team captain will remain unsigned for a few more years with Arsenal, club boss Mikel Arteta will have no option but to sell.
Yet according to Mirror, Arteta plans to keep his skipper with the club and to do so he is ready to make deals like selling other assets. On the shortlist of players that Arsenal can put on the market in Aubameyang's stead is Alexandre Lacazette.
"I think that Arsenal are going to do everything they can to keep him. I see them more likely selling ... Lacazette and taking another major striker," the report quoted an unnamed source as saying.
Arteta wanting to continue working with the 30-year-old goalscorer is not surprising at all. Aubameyang is nothing short of impressive since making the move from Borussia Dortmund to the Premier League in 2017. He now boasts of 61 goals and 16 of which were scored this season in the domestic competition.
The Spanish boss appears to value as well the skipper's commitment with the team and his willingness to operate on the pitch per the instructions by Arteta, the report added.
However, if the move by Aubameyang to Spain could not be helped, the Gunners manager will need to hunt for a solid replacement and The Daily Mail said the Spaniard has a 22-year-old striker in mind. That would be Luka Jovic, who appears to be struggling to shine at Santiago Bernabeu.
The Serbian frontman has yet to make his mark in the Spanish capital after 24 game appearances, in which he only cleared two goals.
He appeared to be out of favor in Real but there are conflicting reports on his fate under team manager Zinedine Zidane. There were suggestions he could be cleared for exit local reports in Madrid also indicated Real would want to give him another season to prove his value.
As for Aubameyang, Arteta holding on to him could prove difficult as the striker is said to be dreaming of playing Champions League football, which for Arsenal is impossible in the upcoming season.
The offers he is getting are said to be tempting. Interests are coming from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and as Real Madrid, these clubs are perennial participants in Europe's most prestigious competition.
