Arsenal striker to consider his future after Mikel Arteta appointment
After weeks of speculations, Mikel Arteta was finally named as the Arsenal manager following the last couple of days of intense negotiations.
The former Gunners star signed a three and a half year deal at the Emirates replacing sacked Unai Emery at the helm. Unai Emery was sacked following a dismal run of games that resulted in the club falling behind in the top six race. Since the sack of the ex PSG manager, Freddie Ljungberg took over as the interim boss but there was no change is Arsenal’s fortunes as the club continued to slump on the pitch.
While the Arsenal players embarrassed on the field, Club chiefs Edu Gaspar, Raul Sanllehi and director Josh Kroenke carried out extensive evaluations and interviews for the next manager of the club. Mauricio Pochettino, Diego Simeone, Carlo Ancelotti and many others were considered but Mikel Arteta’s vision and ideas impressed the club hierarchy the most.
The club’s former midfielder joins from Manchester City where he was an assistant to Pep Guardiola. The North London club has reportedly paid £1 million as compensation to City for Arteta’s services.
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With the arrival of Arteta, hope has been restored among the Gooners that their former star can bring fresh thoughts to the camp and help the team regain its lost touch. The resurrection will not be a walk in the park and one of the first complicated tasks for Arteta will be to either convince the big names at the club to stay or to completely overhaul the squad. Arsenal have some big names in their backyard like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazatte.
According to English media outlet Independent, Club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is considering his future. Big questions were raised when the Gabonese striker’s brother, Willy Aubameyang, publicly criticized Mikel Arteta as an option for Arsenal manager on Social media. The report further added that Aubameyang wants to leave the North London club and join a club that has a better chance of winning trophies.
Despite showing no signs of slowing down, Aubameyang will soon be on the wrong side of thirty and understands that if he wants to achieve silverware at a quicker rate he might have to part ways with Arsenal. The striker is growing impatient with the lack of Champions League football at the Emirates with Arsenal nowhere close to the top four.
The captain’s desire to leave reflects the mood of the whole camp as Mesut Ozil is also keen on moving away from Arsenal. Ozil has done very little to justify his £350,000 a week wages and has fallen out of favour at the club. Meanwhile, former captain Granit Xhaka is also considering his future after the whole episode where he reacted angrily to the home supporters who were booing and whistling the Swiss midfielder.
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Mikel Arteta might be walking a tight rope as he has only one chance to convince Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and other big players at the club to stay but Arteta might even choose to refurbish the entire squad. What do you think, will Aubameyang stay or leave Arsenal in the upcoming winter transfer window?