According to The Telegraph, Arsenal are now willing to listen to offers for club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer.
That has come out of nowhere, hasn’t it?
The Gunners are expected to offload plenty of players this summer, but Aubameyang wasn’t supposed to be one of them. The Gabon star carried Arsenal on his back in his first 18 months here, and deservedly earned himself a big-money contract last year.
He was expected to go from strength to strength after his new deal, especially after he fired Arsenal to FA Cup and Community Shield glory almost on his own. Sadly, things haven’t gone his way.
Auba has had a really difficult campaign, both on and off the pitch. He has had a lot of personal problems to deal with and that clearly had an impact on his performances.
That brought in a ton of criticism from some fans, pundits and the media. He was constantly hammered in the press, but even after what was described as a really poor season, Auba finished the campaign with 15 goals and four assists in all competitions.
That’s not a bad return at all, certainly not one that should force Arsenal to consider selling him this summer.
Arsenal should not sell Aubameyang
We all know football is a cruel game, both to the fans and players. What happens on the pitch at times is bad enough, but to see someone like Aubameyang read in the news that he could be sold after one bad season is just terrible.
Last season was the first time Aubameyang finished a campaign with less than 15 goals in all competitions since 2011. That is phenomenal consistency at the top level, and a once-in-a-decade blip is completely acceptable.
Aubameyang is an ‘absolutely outstanding‘ player, even Gary Neville thinks so. There’s no reason why he can bounce back next season and bang in 25 goals in all competitions, especially when he will have all the rest in the world thanks to no European football.
Selling Auba would be a terrible move by Edu, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. We shouldn’t even consider a bid for our skipper, unless it’s from PSG and it includes Kylian Mbappe in the deal.
Read more: Three brilliant players Luis Campos can help Arsenal sign this summer
