This archive report was first published on 3 August 2020.
Published on August 3, 2020
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has challenged Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to commit to the club and become one of its all-time strikers.
Arteta believes Aubameyang can become one of the Arsenal greats, alongside Thierry Henry, Ian Wright, and Dennis Bergkamp, after his FA Cup final heroics.
Aubameyang's current £180,000-a-week deal expires next summer, but his contract includes a 12-month extension clause that would see his wages go up significantly.
Arsenal want to give him a completely new deal to remove the financial penalty, but Aubameyang knows he is in a strong bargaining position.
Arteta said: 'We always had incredible strikers at this club, and Auba deserves to be named and compared with the big names.'
'By winning trophies, he will be closer to that the longer he stays there. Hopefully, we can have him for longer.'
Aubameyang's age means there will be no sell-on value, which may limit his options, but Arsenal are desperate to keep him and are making other plans to raise cash, including selling Matteo Guendouzi and looking for a midfielder and defensive options.
Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey is their No.1 choice in midfield, and they have been offered Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho on loan.
Arsenal are also desperate to offload Mesut Ozil, who has one year left on his £350,000-a-week contract, but he does not want to leave and wants to see out his contract.
