Arsenal: Ranking the four Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang outcomes

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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 28: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after a Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal scores a goal which is later disallowed during the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais at Emirates Stadium on July 28, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /

2. Plays for a year and leaves for free

Where Arsenal are in a semi-positive position is in the replacements they already have in-house. While they do not have a ready-made, plug-and-play elite goalscorer such that Aubameyang has become expendable, in Reiss Nelson, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah, they do have four players who have the potential to one day emulate Aubameyang’s elite production.

That said, whether any of them are ready next season is debatable. Martinelli and Saka have been excellent and offer the most viable option to succeed Aubameyang, but can you rely on 19-year-olds to be as consistently brilliant as Aubameyang has been ever since he arrived two-and-a-half years ago.

Therefore, keeping Aubameyang for another year and allowing those under him to develop and fine-tune their games could be the ideal succession plan. Then, when Aubameyang departs on a free next season, Arsenal need not splash £80 million on a replacement. Those players are already at the club. But this option likely relies on Aubameyang remaining at the club for one more year.

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