Julien Laurens has told ESPN FC that Arsenal are yet to even start ‘concrete talks’ with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, due to the impact of the global health crisis.
Aubameyang has just over a year left on his contract at Arsenal and there are now real concerns that he could depart.
Arsenal may be forced to cash in on Aubameyang this summer, although Mikel Arteta remains hopeful he can convince his star striker to commit his future.
Laurens, though, suggests that if Aubameyang does not pen a new contract then his days at the Emirates Stadium are over.
They haven’t properly started talking concrete talks about a new deal and what the future holds because of the pandemic, because they’re really focused right now on being as ready as possible for when the league resumes, which is fair. Then after that they will talk.
“It’s very clear it’s either he’s happy to sign a new deal and the club wants to keep him for longer, he’s 31 at the end of the month, so you have to be careful of what you do, you can’t give him a 10-year deal when he’s 31.
“But if he doesn’t want to sign a deal or you can’t find an agreement or anything like this, then you either sell him now and get a bit of money, maybe £20m-£25m, or you keep him and he runs down his contract and in the following summer in 2021 he goes for free.”
There had been some suggestions that Arsenal could keep hold of Aubameyang for another year even if he wasn’t to sign a new deal, but Laurens’ comments seem to rule out the possibility of that happening.
If Aubameyang does leave the Gunners it will be a major blow to Arteta’s side.
The Gabonese front man carries much of Arsenal’s goalscoring threat and finding a replacement for him on a limited budget could prove hugely difficult.
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