Could it be the silver lining over a few dark clouds for Arsenal? Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has now spoken of how close his side is to signing Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the departure of Chilean superstar Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United.
All in all, Arsenal are on the up at the moment, despite having quite a horrendous start to this season. They did lose their best player in Sanchez to Manchester United, but at some point, they had to as the 29-year-old was reluctant to sign a contract extension with the Gunners as he was about to terminate at the end of the season. They did make a swap deal in which they landed a quality midfield player at Arsenal in the form of Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Speaking on a missed drug test by Sanchez on Monday, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said, “On Monday there was a lot going on, it is a special day for Alexis Sanchez – you have do paperwork and travel. Was he still our player on Monday or not? You don’t know. I think it is a special event for him to miss a drugs test because he was somewhere else.
“It is just a bad day for him to be tested. Honestly, on the administration side it would still be our responsibility because he had not moved. I don’t know what really happened.”
Having being linked with a move for Aubamenyang this winter transfer window, Wenger revealed that a deal between the Bavarian club is ‘far from close but it is possible we will recruit someone else but I won’t give you a name.’
He had insisted he wanted to keep his national compatriot Olivier Giroud away from Chelsea, as their London rivals needed another big striker up-front with Morata not able to score regular goals.
“I want Olivier to stay. If nobody comes in, nobody goes out,” Wenger added. ‘I cannot tell you more. We have nothing to announce. At the moment, we stay where we are. We keep our players. ‘We have added Mkhitaryan and lost Sanchez. Will anything else happen? At the moment, I don’t know.
Aubameyang has been scoring heavily for the black and yellows this season but has wanted a move away from the Signale Iduna Park after his side has been underperforming. His disciplinary actions have also come under scrutiny and the board is reportedly looking to get rid of him this January window.
The 28-year-old is extremely quick on the football pitch and has natural striker’s instincts when he plays in the front-line. Along with pace, he is also a threat in the air and has more than enough skills to beat opposing defenders.
Dortmund manager Peter Stoger had given a hint suggesting that the Gunners could sign Aunbameyang as he wanted these negotiations to end quickly.
Arsenal also recently beat their London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates to progress into the final of the League Cup given them a big boost for their season.
They would surely love to have Aubameyang play in the final as it would give them a strong chance of winning the competition, where they face off against Manchester City, who are really doing well for themselves in all competitions.
The north Londoners are looking for a source of inspiration to propel them to greater things and whether it is this star or some other player, the money has to be spent in the right way in order to get the desired results.
It is more or less time for Wenger to stop talking about what may happen or what could have happened and the French boss now needs to show his class once again and win the league, if not the Champions League, before he retires.
