Aubameyang close to signing new three-year Arsenal deal

Arsenal skipper, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, is almost set to sign a new contract that is expected to take him to another three-year journey with the FA Cup winners.

The new contract that Arsenal have offered will run until 2023, covering final 12 months on the existing deal and extending it by further two years

According to the Telegraph Sport, talks have advanced to the stage where Arsenal are now drawing up the final proposal for Aubameyang to sign, following a positive round of talks in which verbal promises were made.

As long as Aubameyang, his representatives and his lawyers do not find any problems in the contract or differences from what has been discussed, then it is expected he will sign the contract and commit himself to the Emirates.

The new contract that Arsenal have offered would run until 2023, covering the final 12 months he has on his existing deal and extending it by a further two years. It is likely to be worth in excess of £250,000 a week and include lucrative bonuses.

While the £350,000 a week earned by Mesut Ozil has again come under scrutiny following Arsenal’s decision to make 55 redundancies of club staff, there have been widespread calls for the Gunners to find an agreement with their star man Aubameyang.

Other than being offered a pay rise, Aubameyang has also received encouragement that Arteta will be allowed to strengthen his squad sufficiently this summer to try to challenge for a top-four place next season.

Willian is expected to join on a free transfer from Chelsea, having been offered a three-year contract with the option of a further 12 months, while Arsenal are also tracking Lille central defender Gabriel Margalhaes and want a central midfielder, having already enquired about Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid.

Philippe Coutinho has been offered to Arsenal, who are not currently pursuing a deal for the Barcelona midfielder but it remains to be seen whether or not they show interest later in the window with the Spanish club hoping to offload him.

read also:Aubameyang offered £300,000-a-week

Arteta will undoubtedly have to sell players to help finance the incoming business he wants to do and Hector Bellerin could be a surprise departure if Arsenal receive a bid for the right-back.

Bellerin is believed to be keen on the prospect of a new challenge, having spent nine years at the club after joining from Barcelona. The scout who helped to bring him to England, Francis Cagigao, is the most high-profile of Arsenal’s redundancies.

Alexandre Lacazette is another first-team player Arsenal may listen to offers for, while out-of-favour midfielder Matteo Guendouzi can leave.

Questions have been raised over whether or not Arsenal should be spending money in the transfer market while making redundancies and there has been surprise among the squad over the announcement.

Some club employees have also questioned why director Josh Kroenke, who is largely responsible for the running of the club, did not make sure he was in the country when the announcement was made to deal with the anticipated fallout.

Arsenal players believed that they were helping to protect the jobs of club staff by agreeing to take a 12.5 percent pay cut during the coronavirus lockdown. Those players will get some of that money back, with the cut dropping to 7.5 percent for qualifying for the Europa League, and there is a disappointment that winning the FA Cup did not help to protect jobs.

The club believes they would have been forced to make more redundancies had the players not taken a wage cut and also hope they will now be able to deal with any further financial impact that could follow as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.