Arsenal proposed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang & Ousmane Dembele swap with Barcelona as former captain edges near transfer departure. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Is the end nigh? It is beginning to look like that for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Arsenal after being stripped of the captain’s armband at the club over an accumulation of disciplinary breaches.
Mikel Arteta made the decision on Monday before a statement was released on Tuesday confirming the news, with the manager’s comments seeming to spell the end of the 32-year-old’s time in north London.
Accusing him of a lack of passion and commitment, for a player who can only reach his best when he’s smiling and happy it’s hard to see a road back. It was, however, the right decision for Arteta to make. There was no other option on the quest for transparency when everything makes it into the public eye. The ‘leadership group’ have taken over for the time being.
The whole saga has, of course, prompted exit talk for Aubameyang. With the January transfer window fast approaching and Arsenal in need of a striker already, the space on the wage bill they could free up by moving on their highest paid player will do wonders for their attempts to bring someone else in.
Arsenal proposed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang & Ousmane Dembele swap with Barcelona as former captain edges near transfer departure
But what about a swap?
As per Miguel Delaney of the Independent, Barcelona are keen on signing Aubameyang but will struggle to afford his wages, those which he’s said to be unwilling to budge on. As a result, intermediaries have floated the idea of doing a straight swap between the former captain and Ousmane Dembele.
Aubameyang is said to earn up to £50k-per-week more than the Frenchman, but they are still roughly in the same ballpark (a very exclusive and expensive one).
With Dembele’s deal running out in the summer, Barça want to recoup something for his services before then and with Sergio Aguero set to announce his terribly sad retirement from football just six months after signing for them it’s an opportunity for them.
As for who Arsenal would be getting, Dembele is one of the finest wide players on the planet. Sometimes. Bursting onto the scene at Rennes, he was snapped up by Borussia Dortmund in 2016 where he spent the solitary full season before Barcelona forked out €145m to bring him to Camp Nou.
Nicolas Pepe looks like another Arsenal player who could be out of the door and the chance to sign someone younger and more talented than him is one Arteta may no want to consider for too long.
But there are, however, a plethora of reasons why this won’t happen.
Continued on next page…
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<p>— Football Daily (@footballdaily) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/15/arsenal-auba-dembele-swap-barcelona/"https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1470752050287988743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>December 14, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>Arsenal proposed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang & Ousmane Dembele swap with Barcelona as former captain edges near transfer departure</h2>
<p>But what about a swap?</p>
<p>As per Miguel Delaney of the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/15/arsenal-auba-dembele-swap-barcelona/"https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/aubameyang-captain-arsenal-barcelona-transfer-b1975849.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Independent</a>, Barcelona are keen on signing Aubameyang but will struggle to afford his wages, those which he’s said to be unwilling to budge on. As a result, intermediaries have floated the idea of doing a straight swap between the former captain and Ousmane Dembele.</p>
<p>Aubameyang is said to earn up to £50k-per-week more than the Frenchman, but they are still roughly in the same ballpark (a very exclusive and expensive one).</p>
<p>With Dembele’s deal running out in the summer, Barça want to recoup something for his services before then and with Sergio Aguero set to announce his terribly sad retirement from football just six months after signing for them it’s an opportunity for them.</p>
<p>As for who Arsenal would be getting, Dembele is one of the finest wide players on the planet. Sometimes. Bursting onto the scene at Rennes, he was snapped up by Borussia Dortmund in 2016 where he spent the solitary full season before Barcelona forked out €145m to bring him to Camp Nou.</p>
<p>Nicolas Pepe looks like another Arsenal player who could be <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/15/arsenal-auba-dembele-swap-barcelona/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/03/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-career-finished/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out of the door</a> and the chance to sign someone younger and more talented than him is one Arteta may no want to consider for too long.</p>
<p>But there are, however, a plethora of reasons why this won’t happen.</p>
<p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/15/arsenal-auba-dembele-swap-barcelona/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Why Arsenal won't swap Auba for Dembele </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-121303" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/15/arsenal-auba-dembele-swap-barcelona/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1236056225-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Auba" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta (L) hugs Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as he leaves the field during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Aston Villa. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Arsenal Won’t Make an Aubameyang & Dembele transfer swap</h2>
<p>The summer transfer business at Arsenal wasn’t just about bringing in younger players, there was also an emphasis on lowering the wage bill, something the club did terrifically well and was key in the signings they brought to north London.</p>
<p>Considering the money forked out for him, Benjamin White, for example, is on a fairly modest wage in comparison to what Arsenal have usually parted ways with. As for Aubameyang, he is both the oldest and highest paid at the club. With a salary said to be in the region of £250k-per-week with an additional £100k in various bonuses, he is the anomaly in the team.</p>
<p>There are others on hefty wages too, but none quite like Aubameyang. It’s money Arsenal don’t want to be paying again, which makes the idea of swapping Aubameyang for another player on similarly substantial wages less plausible. Not only that, but Dembele would be put on a contract extending well beyond the 18 months left on the Gabon internationals.</p>
<p>Arsenal will be saddling themselves with a similarly restricting financial situation.</p>
<p>As for football matters, the glaringly obvious concern is the mountain of injuries that Dembele has picked up since his time in Catalonia. It’s now 13 separate setbacks, seven of which have related to his hamstrings. They account for 100 missed matches in four and a bit seasons.</p>
<p>You can see this red flag from the moon.</p>
<p>He also doesn’t boast the best reputation when it comes to his attitude. Known for poor punctuality (how many hazard signs do you want?) late night parties, missing training unannounced and generally disrespecting club rules, he is precisely what Arsenal don’t want. Talent or no talent, the culture at the club needs maintaining, hence this whole situation being as it is in the first place.</p>
<p>This won’t be the first and it won’t be the last time intermediaries try to manufacture moves. They were heavily involved over the summer with the James Maddison rumours, and with a superstar name like Aubameyang in the mix there will be more efforts made along the lines of this particular swap.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Predicted lineup vs West Ham" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/14/arsenal-predicted-lineup-west-ham-auba/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/15/arsenal-auba-dembele-swap-barcelona/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/14/arsenal-predicted-lineup-west-ham-auba/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Predicted lineup vs West Ham </a> </div>
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<p>But we can firmly put the breaks on this happening.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
