ARSENAL hope their strong relationship with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s father will help them keep the striker, according to reports.
The Gunners captain, 31 this month, has just one year left on his current deal at the Emirates.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona have all been linked with moves for the forward – although the Blues’ interest will no doubt cool when they secure the signature of Timo Werner.
But Arsenal are still wanting to do all they can to convince the Gabon international to pen a new contract as they prioritise extending current deals as opposed to making new signings this summer amid the coronavirus crisis.
According to The Telegraph, they are planning to try and use Pierre-Francois Aubameyang in order to do so.
Not only is Aubameyang Snr the ex-Borussia Dortmund man’s father but is also his agent, with his name on the FA paperwork when his son joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.
That deal was worth around £60million but Arsenal will not be able to recoup that much for a player with just 12 months remaining on his deal.
When Barcelona contacted the North London side in January, they were quickly scared off by a £50m asking price.
But his value has plummeted in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which has destroyed every club’s transfer budget.
Now Arsenal would do well to pocket £20m for the player – nowhere near enough to replace a goalscorer with 61 strikes in 97 appearances for the club.
Therefore, as revealed by SunSport, Arsenal would rather keep their star striker until the end of his deal if they cannot get a decent price for him this summer – despite vowing not to allow contracts to run out after losing Aaron Ramsey for free last year.
The club believe Aubameyang will be more valuable leading their attack for another season than leaving for a knockdown price.
He is determined to play in the Champions League again and challenge for silverware in the final years of his career after winning nothing at the Emirates so far.
But boss Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal can still qualify for Europe’s top competition this season despite occupying ninth place in the table at the moment.
Aubameyang and his team-mates will get their season back underway next Wednesday with a tough trip to reigning champions Manchester City.
