Aubameyang looks all set to move out of Arsenal this summer as the Gunners have decided to shelve plans of giving him a new deal at the club, according to reports.
As per Alan Smith, the North London club might be reluctant to offer Aubameyang the new contract due to fears that he might end up being another Mesut Ozil next season. But the pundit has also explained why Arsenal need to agree to the Gabon international’s terms and bump up his wage demands at the club.
Alan Smith told Sky Sports: “It’s a fine balance in terms of keeping the squad together there but the first question you’ve got to ask is, does he want to stay?
“If he’s determined to play Champions League football it might be that he’s determined to leave Arsenal. He and his agent will maybe already have indicated whether they do want to move on but is he determined to move on? That could depend on who wants to buy him.
“He may be able to join a club in the Champions League but depending on the club, he may not see it as a step up compared to a club like Arsenal.
“As far as the money is concerned, the Mesut Ozil situation has created a lot of controversies. He’s the top earner at Arsenal by some distance and there are big games where he hasn’t produced his best performances in a long way.
“There have been times when his body language is poor and he’s been jogging about, and that is what creates unrest in a dressing room, especially if they don’t think he’s putting a shift in. Now if you’ve got a player like Aubameyang scoring goals, people, to a certain extent, accept he should get paid more money than other players.
“His goals are the reason he is getting paid the big bucks. The top money is a bit easier to justify if you are scoring regularly like Aubameyang does.”
Aubameyang will not be Mesut Ozil 2.0:
Mesut Ozil has always been weary and lazy on the pitch but people have chosen to overlook these flaws since most often than not, he has been brilliant with his vision.
But ever since he signed that new deal with the Gunners, the playmaker’s graph has continuously dipped and now the management fears the same could happen with Aubameyang.
While this scenario could still be a possibility for the player who is set to be 31 in June but the Gabon international is made of a totally different mould than Ozil.
The ex-Dortmund man is full of energy on the pitch and right now he is the only player who’s capable of scoring goals at will in the Arsenal camp. So we can’t help but agree with Alan Smith that the Gunners need to pay the player as per his wishes since Arteta might take years before he can an apt replacement for him.
Also, due to the spread of the disease, Arsenal’s finances are expected to take a massive hit this summer so it’s better to pay Aubameyang an improved salary and hold onto him instead of trying to gamble in the market and lose out on their limited previous transfer budget.
