Speaking on the Transfer Window Podcast, Duncan Castles has claimed that Arsenal have concerns about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after his underwhelming season.
The Gunners gave their star striker a new long-term contract last summer, but Castles claims that the club are now worried that their gamble may not pay off and they now have another ageing player on a big contract.
Castles says that Arsenal’s poor situation stems back to Arsene Wenger’s final years at the Emirates and the Gunners’ policy of giving older players big contracts, with Mesut Ozil probably being the most infamous example.
Sadly, the Gunners believe that they may have repeated their Ozil mistake with Aubameyang.
“There are lots of factors in this. It stems back to Arsene Wenger’s time at the club, some very bad signings made and Wenger chasing a final trophy in his final years there and gambling money on older players on very expensive contracts. Some of those have now been shifted out of the club, but the expense and the damage remains.
“They have a sense that this may happen again to them with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who is an old age for a striker and has been handed a very large contract by Arsenal, he’s been given the captaincy and he repays the club by arriving late for a game against Tottenham and being dropped at a key portion of the season.”
Sadly, Arsenal’s fears may come true.
The Gabonese forward has been way off the pace since he signed his new deal, just like Ozil.
Of course, there were other external factors at play in Ozil’s final months at the club and he was completely frozen out of the squad, but even before that point, his performances dipped almost immediately after he signed his new contract.
Fingers crossed Arsenal are wrong about Aubameyang and he can return to form sooner rather than later.
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