Barcelona are considering the possibility of signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal in January, according to the Independent.
Aubameyang has been linked with the Catalan club in the past, but this time the reported interest actually seems plausible, mainly for two reasons.
Firstly, Aubameyang’s position at Arsenal has hit its lowest since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018. Following Granit Xhaka’s angry outburst towards the fans last year, Aubameyang was given the captain’s armband. However, various disciplinary issues have arisen for him since, and the latest has caused him to finally lose the captaincy, as well as his place in the team for the time being. It seems manager Mikel Arteta has had enough.
Aubameyang was allowed to travel to France last Wednesday and was supposed to return on the same day, which he failed to do. He returned on Thursday morning instead, but the damage was done and he was told not to report for training that day. He was left out of the team that thrashed Southampton on Saturday, and the club have officially announced he would not play against West Ham this evening (Wednesday) either, in addition to losing the armband.
It’s hard to see a way back for the 32-year-old right now.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have lost the services of Sergio Aguero due to a heart condition which has forced the former Manchester City striker to retire from playing professionally, and they’ve been thin in the attacking department since the start of the season. It seems Aubameyang has now moved to the top of their list to replace the Argentinian, though an agreement still won’t be easy to reach, mostly because the now former Arsenal captain is reluctant to take a cut on his wages, which stand well in excess of £200,000 per week.
Edinson Cavani is also being considered, and that might prove the more reasonable path for the Catalans, given the plethora of attacking options at Manchester United.
