It’s almost done.
After it became clear that Arsenal had to stop trying to lowball Borussia Dortmund and stump up the money Dortmund are demanding, it seems they have obliged and offered the full €60m.
According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal have agreed to pay a club record fee of £55.4m for Aubameyang. Their previous record transfer was Alexandre Lacazette, who signed for £52m last summer from Lyon.
Now, the pair are set to link up in tandem for Arsenal’s attack, supported by another January recruit from Manchester United, Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Arsenal have reportedly offered Aubameyang a three-and-a-half year deal worth £180,000 per week.
The transfer could have a domino effect on the transfer market. Chelsea are reportedly interested in Olivier Giroud as they search for a plan B to Álvaro Morata, which could see Michy Batshuayi head to Dortmund on loan as a temporary replacement for Aubameyang.
Everyone wins, it would seem.
Arsenal have lost Alexis Sánchez, but given the circumstances in which they found themselves this month, they will have emerged in a very strong position once Aubameyang’s move becomes official.
Losing a world class player with six months remaining to a rival club will always hurt, but getting Mkhitaryan in return and adding Aubameyang to the mix is the most Arsenal could have done to deal with the loss of Sánchez.
It’s arguable that Mkhitaryan is actually more suited to Arsenal’s style of play than Sánchez was, and fans have reason to be excited by the prospect of the Armenian linking up with Aubameyang again after they formed a prolific partnership at Dortmund.
