Juventus and Barcelona have both made contact with Arsenal to explore the possibility of signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before the transfer window closes on Monday, according to multiple sources.
No official bid for the services of the 32-year-old has been made as of yet, and it seems the main issue for either suitor presents the amount of £350,000 which Aubameyang earns every week.
Regardless of what happens for the rest of the transfer window, it appears that Aubameyang’s spell as an Arsenal player is over. The club showed plenty of faith in the Gabonese when they handed him the captain’s armband following Granit Xhaka’s tussle with the supporters at the Emirates as he walked of the pitch in the Gunners’ Premier League draw against Crystal Palace in October 2018. However, Aubameyang repaid their trust poorly, with disciplinary issues arising one after another, and it all boiled over last month when he failed to return to the club from a trip abroad at the time appointed. Aubameyang was stripped of captaincy the following day and hasn’t played for the club since.
Further more, Aubameyang allegedly attended a party with some of his international teammates ahead of the ongoing African Cup of Nations and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. He was afterwards diagnosed with cardiac lesions as well, and sent back to London, at a request from the club.
In 2020, Aubameyang was about to enter the final 12 months of his contract and his future was a subject of much speculation, but he eventually signed a new deal which now has him bound to Arsenal until the summer of 2023.
