4:54 Gary Neville analyses Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal record since his arrival in the Premier League and feels that the Arsenal striker should be included as an elite player in the division
How big a consideration is Aubameyang’s age?
SMITH SAYS: “His age definitely comes into it because the re-sale value won’t be too high if they sign him on a three-year deal. It’s always a concern and it may be that Arsenal are thinking they can get good money for him now and it will free them up and give more spending power to go out and refresh the squad, especially if he’s determined to leave.
“It’s a really tricky situation but the club won’t want to get caught in another situation where a player has run down his contract. You have to consider the fact that you can’t stop a player running his contract down. He can dig his heels in and say: ‘I’m leaving at the end of my current deal.’
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“Sometimes there is nothing the club can do about it because the power is with the player, but there does seem a determination at the club now. It seems the club have a more organised structure to prevent this kind of thing happening.
“Before, Arsene Wenger maybe took on an awful lot of the workload, but it is spread out a bit now with Edu, Raul Sanllehi and the like. You’d hope the club don’t get caught out again in the future.”
If Arsenal sold Aubameyang, who could replace him? Does the rise of Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah influence the decision?
SMITH SAYS: “It’s asking a lot of Nketiah or Martinelli, as talented as they both are, to step into the shoes of a tried-and-tested goalscorer like Aubameyang, who has been playing at the top level for a lot of years.
“If Aubameyang did leave I’m sure they would be looking to bring some experience in but they are restricted by their finances. They’ve also got Alexandre Lacazette but his goal output has tailed off this season compared to his first at the club, so that would be a concern.
“But there’s no question they’ve got talent inside the club. I’m a big fan of Martinelli in particular. I think he’s got a great attitude and a wonderful eye for goal as we’ve seen on a number of occasions already. There’s definitely a lot to come from him but you have to be careful you don’t put too much responsibility on young shoulders. They need to be nurtured.”
NICHOLAS SAYS: “It depends how you want to balance the team.
“Nketiah does not claim too many assists, but he runs off the ball and into space, and he is a very good finisher. He is more a No 9 that needs to learn the trade, and is still way behind Alexandre Lacazette. Martinelli does have the potential to become an exceptional player. The signs with him are pretty similar. because he runs well with the ball and makes good runs off the ball too.
“He is young, but that does not matter as he’s already shown plenty this season. He got a bit lucky with the N’Golo Kante slip at Chelsea for his goal, but it is that type of thing that he will bring you. Look at how he finished that opportunity, you can see a cool, clinical and ruthless customer in front of goal.
“Jurgen Klopp was raving about him for a reason. The potential is there, but he is not at Aubameyang’s level yet. I am hopeful he will get there, but he cannot be relied on just yet. There’s also Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe, who hasn’t come good yet, so there is potential to replace from within, but it’s a risk.”
What if he doesn’t want to sign? Can Arsenal risk losing him on a free?
NICHOLAS SAYS: “No. The Aaron Ramsey situation was ridiculous. I remember when we were talking about Ramsey with 18 months to go. Ramsey had won over a lot of Arsenal fans at that point, but he was not everybody’s favourite. A lot were saying let him go.
“I said the same thing then as what I will now. Even asking for something over the top, it would not be massively over what Arsenal thought would be something feasible. Ramsey probably wanted to stay, so why could they not pay him what other teams were paying their players? They could not afford it and could have given into it, but I do not see why Arsenal keep running contracts down.
“Manchester United were cute enough to get players over the line like Nemanja Matic and manipulate the system where they can keep these type of players for another year. If they want to leave, there is still value and you are still getting money back. It goes into replacing some of these players.
“However, Arsenal are stuck with the likes of Shkodran Mustafi and Sead Kolasinac. Will they get any value back? No. What they do with contracts is baffling.”
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Could this be another Robin van Persie situation?
SMITH SAYS: “It will obviously hurt a lot more if he goes to another Premier League club and helps them win the Premier League like Robin van Persie did at Manchester United.
“You’d want to avoid selling him to a rival, to an English club and selling him abroad would be more palatable because he’d be out of people’s consciousness to a certain extent. They wouldn’t be seeing him every week which would help.
“It’s definitely another consideration though because it would be painful for the fans if he went to a Liverpool or a Manchester City, or whoever, and his goals helped them to more success.”
NICHOLAS SAYS: “It depends what people put down as a risk. If he was to go to Manchester United, does it help Arsenal? No, not at all.
“If Aubameyang wants to leave, you ideally want him out of the Premier League. However, he is of a mind and age that I can see the dangers and understand comparisons with Van Persie. However, I think he will be thinking about what happened to Alexis Sanchez rather than Van Persie.
“Would he want to be a part of a superstar reload at Manchester United? Is there a great appeal to that? If it was Liverpool or Man City I would get it, but Manchester United are miles away from the top two. I do not see the appeal of moving to Old Trafford.
“Would he win the title with United in the next few years? I don’t think so. He might not even be in the Champions League if he was to join so what is the real appeal? Is it salary? I don’t think he is that type.
“Van Persie jumped to a massive salary, but Manchester United are not the same calibre as what they were then. Would he be the cutting edge for them? Maybe. But, like Arsenal, I think they have other issues to address.
“If Arsenal were to get £100m for him to go there, I would take that. Arsenal were once the challengers to United for the title, but now neither of them are. If Man United offer £100m for Aubameyang, sell him.”
Where else could he go?
NICHOLAS SAYS: “I don’t see Liverpool or Man City signing him. Would he get into Liverpool’s side? No. Manchester City could be an option if they were looking to replace Sergio Aguero.
“Would Aubameyang say that he has done Germany and England? Could it be time to move to Spain? He is a similar age to Thierry Henry when he went to Barcelona to play with Lionel Messi and Xavi, before winning titles and Champions Leagues.
“I could see him moving to the Nou Camp, but Real Madrid could also be an option.”
The final verdict…
SMITH SAYS: “When players’ contracts actually finish with the present health crisis is obviously a factor but the best outcome for the club would be to get him to sign a new deal. They would have a committed player who always gets you goals.
“He’s a fit lad, so he’s still got a good two or three years left at the top level. A new deal would be the ideal situation because he can help Arsenal, with additions to the team elsewhere, get back to the big time. Persuading the player that his future lies at Arsenal would be the best outcome.”
NICHOLAS SAYS: “My preference would be for Aubameyang to stay. The problem, however is that as much as I would like to get my way, I have a feeling Arsenal will not keep him.
“If it means offloading Ozil and others to fund his new contract and the rebuilding of the team, I would have no problem with that. But if Ozil stays, I feel they will sell him, because they cannot afford another Aaron Ramsey saga.”
Sourse: skysports.com
