Arsenal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Play China right

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is getting transfer inquiries to move to China, but the Gunners need to play this perfectly.

Arsenal need to hit the lottery this summer if they expect to purchase enough players to A) shut up the fans for a second and, B) improve the club. With £40m being the supposed “infusion” from Stan Kroenke and the cronies, sales are more important than ever before.

There are a ton of players already tied to exists – Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mohamed Elneny, just to name a few. But none of them are guaranteed to fetch over £20m. In fact, they probably won’t. Combined, we may get £60m from the lot of them.

Which is a nice boost, but in the essence of getting Unai Emery the players that he needs, a healthy one-off sale could be exactly what the doctor ordered.

The problem is, that would involve parting with Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Our two shining lights from this season.

According to numerous rumors, interest in Chinese has ramped up for the services of Aubameyang. While the initial offers were a laughable £62m, it has since increased to £80m, seemingly overnight.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

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I don’t want to sell Aubameyang. In fact, I really don’t want to. He won us a Golden Boot and is a thrill every time he touches the ball. But in the name of being ruthless, I could see him sold for… £120m? Am I being crazy here?

China pays obscene amounts of money to lure players to their league. It’s state money, and it’s just about limitless.

Aubameyang would be a sensation in the Chinese Super League, and they know it. We know it. So with all of us in shared knowledge, it has to be played right. You want to go into this not wanting to sell him at all, but rather, wanting to make him an Arsenal legend. Only an impossible-to-refuse offer should change that.

But be sure to tell any Chinese clubs that, because an impossible-to-refuse offer may not be so impossible for them to kick up.

If we can get an offer for about twice that of what we paid for Aubameyang, then it would be tough not to be on board with selling him. You trim the wage budget, you boost you or transfer coffers exponentially, and you put yourself in the financial state you needed to be in all along for this crucial summer.

While I’d hate for this to be done at all, if it has to be done, at least let’s do it right and work the transfer window for once.