Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

[Salibatelli]

This is the elite club Aubameyang is a member of. How do we replace such a player?

We can't.

How do we replace Henry? RvP? Alexis?

But I'd still like us to spread the goals out so we're not so reliant on one player.

Thats exactly what we were doing when we last won the league, Pires and Ljungberg chipping in with 15 or so goals a piece.

That was on top of a goalscorer, it would be great to have goalscoring midfielders (they're as rare as hens teeth however) but you also need a goalscorer, which is what Auba is and those are very hard to replace.

If we sell him get maybe 60 million for him and then need to replace him, but who with?

[theHotHead]

I agree, you need a top goalscorer AND goal scoring midfielders, I disagree they are rare though, they are all over the place, we just don't have any !!

[DiamondGooner]

Missing one big factor though ............. the guy wants to leave.

Lacazette apparently has an agreement to be able to leave if no CL end of season, Saka hasn't signed.

What makes you think we can keep a striker with 12 months left on his contract who has been a league top scorer 2 years running?

He's gone, he's going and if he's not signing (which he's not) then why not move on and use the money to sign someone who wants to be here?

Forcing a player to stay isn't a good idea and we'll have all the media circus about who's buying him like we did with Ramsey.

If he's playing amazing and the club are willing to take the hit financially then sure, I love Auba and would be happy for him to continue but if he's demanding to go then that's different ............ however, I don't think he'd be unhappy to stay and leave on a free so maybe that's what will happen?

[Zenith]

[theHotHead]

Missing one big factor though ............. the guy wants to leave.

Lacazette apparently has an agreement to be able to leave if no CL end of season, Saka hasn't signed.

What makes you think we can keep a striker with 12 months left on his contract who has been a league top scorer 2 years running?

He's gone, he's going and if he's not signing (which he's not) then why not move on and use the money to sign someone who wants to be here?

Forcing a player to stay isn't a good idea and we'll have all the media circus about who's buying him like we did with Ramsey.

If he's playing amazing and the club are willing to take the hit financially then sure, I love Auba and would be happy for him to continue but if he's demanding to go then that's different ............ however, I don't think he'd be unhappy to stay and leave on a free so maybe that's what will happen?

Why are you so sure he wants to leave? Just because he has run his contract down that doesn't mean he wants to leave, lets not forget who the fuckwit of a manager was at the start of this season and how bad morale was before Arteta took over. Auba could just as easily be ensuring he gets a bumper pay packet to stay with us.

[DiamondGooner]

Missing one big factor though ............. the guy wants to leave.

Lacazette apparently has an agreement to be able to leave if no CL end of season, Saka hasn't signed.

What makes you think we can keep a striker with 12 months left on his contract who has been a league top scorer 2 years running?

He's gone, he's going and if he's not signing (which he's not) then why not move on and use the money to sign someone who wants to be here?

Forcing a player to stay isn't a good idea and we'll have all the media circus about who's buying him like we did with Ramsey.

If he's playing amazing and the club are willing to take the hit financially then sure, I love Auba and would be happy for him to continue but if he's demanding to go then that's different ............ however, I don't think he'd be unhappy to stay and leave on a free so maybe that's what will happen?

Why are you so sure he wants to leave? Just because he has run his contract down that doesn't mean he wants to leave, lets not forget who the fuckwit of a manager was at the start of this season and how bad morale was before Arteta took over. Auba could just as easily be ensuring he gets a bumper pay packet to stay with us.

Where would you want me to start?

We're nowhere near top 4

We've had a tragic time since he joined the club is only now even able to start winning a game, its been a circus.

We're not in the CL and he's one of the best strikers in the world.

................. then to top it off, or I could of simply just written this.

He has been allowed to enter the sports version of the golden ticket, with 12 months on his contract no player in their right mind is going to sign an new deal which isn't extortionate, he'd be an idiot to do so.

Barcelona, Juventus etc all these clubs who want him ............ and he's free??

So what does he get by stalling?

CL, play for a top club not in crisis and the biggest pay day of his career because he'll either be bought on the cheap or be free.

.............. or he could just re-sign with AFC at age 30 for hardly anymore money than the 200k or so he's on now, not play in Europe and be in a top 10 team in hard times.

Tempting? not.

He's gone.

[ag6789]

There's the question of being settled/ well ensconced. How have others fared in similar situation? Like Sanchez, Coutinho, Fernando Torres???

[Power n Glory]

There's the question of being settled/ well ensconced. How have others fared in similar situation? Like Sanchez, Coutinho, Fernando Torres???

I think it's also a question of whether Aubameyang is happy to retire without winning a major trophy. It's much closer to the RVP situation compared to the players you mentioned. It's on the Board to convince him Aubameyang to stay and that we can win something major.

[Highbury Hillbilly]

I don't like Giroud but you can't fault him because he couldn't play other positions, he is a number 9, the big target man, he is not supposed to be able to play other positions.

In fact I would go as far as to say, I couldn't care less if a player can't play other positions, just be good in the position you are supposed to play in.

If you have a normal team with squad depth, sure. But we don't, we just shift players around because we don't replace players when they leave. Emery tried to play Torreira in a Ramsey role. Right now, we're playing Mustafi at RB in rotation w/ Bellerin and Saka as LB.

[Rockape]

I’m with DG....we’ve seen it all before and there is absolutely no reason for him to stay, as it stands.

We certainly don’t want the club to offer him a 4 yr contract on £350k a week. Look what happened to Sanchez a season after he was awesome. He could easily pick up an injury that could end his current effectiveness.

We need to invest in youth and give players like Saka and martinelli a chance.

[Angelito]

This is the elite club Aubameyang is a member of. How do we replace such a player?

We can't.

How do we replace Henry? RvP? Alexis?

But I'd still like us to spread the goals out so we're not so reliant on one player.

[DiamondGooner]

There's the question of being settled/ well ensconced. How have others fared in similar situation? Like Sanchez, Coutinho, Fernando Torres???

.................. Sanchez faired pretty well ££££

This is a very typical ploy by good players coming up to the age of 30.

They see their retirement in sight, play lights out then go to free agency with a fat retirement contract.

I don't blame them because its only the clubs fault to let a player get so close to the finish line without putting their foot down and cutting their losses and recoup the transfer fee to reinvest.

IF Auba is saying "I want to see if Arsenal are in the CL" that's BS, what he wants is to creep his contract down to summer without re-signing then boom, he's in the £££ lane of less than 12 months till free agency.

He's so close now, I'd be shocked if he took a contract and if he did its going to be Ozil wages.

[VCC]

Like any contract you have any agreed terms placed within it,
So he ends on silly money should just be down to the club having some sort of performance terms, as would be the case for an out clause for the player in some form.

[Highbury Hillbilly]

A 2-year extension where his base wages are at least on par with Ozil's is the barest minimum the club can offer given how expensive it will be to replace him if he leaves in the summer. With a 2-year extension, he can still be sold in summer 2021; but we need the 2 year buffer to get a decent price for him.

As it stands now he holds all the cards. He doesn't have to move this summer because clubs can make him a better offer if they know he's free in 2021.

[swipe right]

Would you go to Barca or Real or Juve and earn 400k a week (Ramsey wages) or stick around at Arsenal while we fight for 7th?