Gunners are resigned to losing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer and have placed a £30m price tag on the centre-forward. Gabon international has only 14 months to run on his contract at the Emirates and has intimated that he will not be signing a new one.
That leaves the Gunners in a predicament, particularly given the financial hit that the club expects to take from the covid19 crisis. Pierre-Emerick is one of the club’s highest earners and ordinarily, would be worth nearly £55m-£60m on the market if he was not close to the end of his deal.
However, with clubs unlikely to sanction big money moves and Gunners facing the prospect of losing him for free as Arsenal will accept bids of nearly £30m.
That will be music to the ears of Barcelona, who have tracked Aubameyang for the last 12 months. However, should the striker wish to remain in London, it gives Chelsea renewed hope that they could sign the star, who is determined to play Champions League football next term.
Gunners preference would be to sell to a club abroad but getting Aubameyang’s reported £200,000-a-week wages off the books is likely to be a priority if the club fails to qualify for the Champions League.
Gunners were facing a difficult summer before the coronavirus crisis, with Mikel Arteta previously admitting that the club’s finances were looking bleak. It means the matter is even more prominent now and the Spanish coach is likely to be looking for bargains this summer or big money departures to offset incomings.