Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang told us nothing new

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has said that he is ‘hungry to win titles’. But, as his contract negotiations stall, the Arsenal striker has told us nothing new.

With questions regarding his future reaching a climax this summer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has publicly spoken on the ‘most important decision of his career’. The Arsenal striker’s contract expires next summer. With the Gunners entering a rebuilding phase under Mikel Arteta and Aubameyamg turning 31 later this month, there are lots of uncertainties to fit together.

And it seems as though Aubameyang is yet to wade through all of them, while the club is also waiting on providing a concrete contract offer. Speaking to Telefoot via the London Evening Standard, Aubameyang said:

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"“Recently I have not received an offer to extend. But, of course, we have had exchanges with the club for a fair few months now. They know very well why so far nothing has happened. They have the keys. It is up to them to do their work and, after that, we will see how things go. It is a turning point in my career, and I will be very frank with everyone. It will certainly be a very difficult decision to make. I still haven’t decided and we will see. It will maybe be the most important decision of my career.”"

Perhaps more pertinently, he then revealed his desire to ‘win titles’:

"“All players want to win titles. Everyone is going to ask the question: ‘does he want to win them at Arsenal or somewhere else?’ But, as I said, the future will tell us. As I have said already, the club has the keys to this. I am hungry to win titles, and whatever my decision, I intend to fight to win titles. To be clear, nothing has been decided.”"

With Aubameyang in the back-end of his prime and entering the final years of his career, this is his last chance to secure a major transfer. If he signs a new contract with Arsenal, he will not join another elite European team, and it is fair to question whether he can win titles in north London with where the team currently is. Aubameyang is obviously questioning this right now.

But while his speaking about this publicly is shocking and has inspired much debate about his future and the decisions that he and the club must make in the coming weeks and months, in reality, he is not saying anything that nobody knew already.

Of course Aubameyang wants to win titles. He is an elite professional footballer. Of course he wants to wait and see what the club does. That will impact where he sees himself fitting into the future project. And of course Arsenal are yet to make a concrete contract offer. In the current circumstances, without knowing whether they will have Champions League football or not amidst the financial uncertainty caused by COVID-19, how could they?

So yes, it is a little jarring to hear Aubameyang speak so plainly in public. But in reality, he has not said anything that we did not already know. Sadly, he has just stated the facts.