PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG proved to be an expensive flop for Arsenal after signing his lucrative contract extension in 2020.
Much was made of the deal at the time and The Gunners spent big in an attempt to avoid the fiasco surrounding Alex Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey’s exits from the club.
Determined not to lose their captain for nothing, Arsenal offered Aubameyang a £350,000-a-week contract, which he signed after a summer spent considering options elsewhere.
And Arsenal may wish he had made a different decision as his form took a MASSIVE hit after that deal.
He went on to score just 14 Premier League goals in 18 months before leaving the club this week – with Arsenal having to pay out £7million to cancel his contract.
That means Arsenal spent a staggering £1.2m per goal in the time since Aubaemayng renewed his contract.
Aubameyang also threatened to derail Arsenal’s season with his ill-discipline, leading Mikel Arteta to leave him out of the squad.
The Spaniard stripped Aubameyang of the captaincy and excluded him from the first-team.
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Arsenal then made the decision to get rid of the striker’s huge salary off the wage bill – cancelling his contract to allow him to sign for Barcelona.
The Gunners are estimated to have saved £27m on wages and bonuses by getting the Gabonese star off the books.
And the club opted not to spend big to land a replacement, as triggering Alexander Isak’s £76m release clause was deemed too great a risk.
But signing a new striker will surely be top of Arteta’s agenda since Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are out of contract in the summer.
Nketiah was linked to Newcastle on deadline day but Arteta stepped in to block the move.
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