Aubameyang is at the peak of his powers. If we sold him in the summer, is there a striker equal to him that we can sign?

Aubameyang is our best striker. Keeping him will allow the club to cash in on Alexandre Lacazette; generating funds to improve the team. Who would you rather upfront? Aubameyang or Lacazette?

Aubameyang signing new contract merely delays him leaving for a free. We would not offer him a big contract, only to sell him in a years time. He would likely sign a 2 year extension, meaning he would leave on a free in 3 years time

Aubameyang is 31 in a few days. Does it really make sense offering a 31-year old huge money to stay for another 3 years? Roll on 24 months, we could be in another Ozil situation where Aubameyang is on huge wages, but his talent is dwindling. Think how quickly Robin van Persie and Alexis Sanchez went downhill after leaving. He is at his peak and will probably fall off a cliff within 24 months.

Aubameyang leaving on a free transfer allows Arsenal to spend big on a replacement. The striker currently costs Arsenal £16m a year in amortised transfer fee (£56m across his 3.5 year deal). £16m across a 5 year means that Arsenal could spend £80m on his replacement without it increasing the clubs annual expenditure. Would you rather give Aubameyang £350k a week, or buy an £80m striker in 12 months time to replace him

Aubameyang and Ozil both leaving on a free in a single summer is good for Arsenal. Combined they reportedly earn £530k a week. That is £27.5m a year. Add in Aubameyang’s amortised transfer fee and the pair cost Arsenal around £43.5m a year. That is more than 10% of the total expenditure. To put that into perspective, 2 new £60m signings on £190k a week for 5 years would also cost Arsenal £43.7m a year.

Keenos

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