Arsenal handling of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang perfectly competent
Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mikel Arteta (Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal keeps falling under heavy criticism from “experts” for the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang situation, but they’ve been perfectly competent.
By now, everyone should know my opinion on “experts.” That they’re all glorified self-promoters who will say anything to get a little extra attention. For Arsenal, that has proven true countless times and it is proving true yet again with the rampant criticism of their handling of the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang situation.
Among the throng of disparaging comments are Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, both of whom have said stuff along the lines of Aubameyang being too good for Arsenal and highlighting how the club is bungling the contract negotiations.
This could not be further from the truth. In fact, I’m quite happy with how the club is handling the situation by withholding any immediate action because what immediate action could they put into place right now?
Arsenal doing nothing wrong with Aubameyang
As it stands, the Gunners obviously have two options. They can fight to get Aubameyang a new contract or they can move to sell him this summer. Both are completely viable options. He could fetch a lot of money or he could continue slotting home goals for another few years.
But right now, we can’t make a move one way or the other without knowing what the future holds for the club.
For instance, if the Gunners climb up the table and elbow their way back into a Champions League spot, they would probably start talking about a new contract with Aubameyang then and there. We’d have more financial clout and more of a reason to keep hold of him and not sell him to reinvest in the future.
On the flip side, if we can’t make the Champions League, it makes more sense to part with Aubameyang and not lock ourselves into more wages, a la Mesut Ozil, without knowing what the future holds. And while simultaneously knowing that we need so many other things besides a superstar striker.
So where exactly does the bungling come along? Where exactly have the Gunners done anything remotely resembling making a mistake? They haven’t. It’s just more media seeking attention during a quiet time.
Oh, and no, Aubameyang isn’t too good for Arsenal. The same way Luis Suarez wasn’t too good for Liverpool. Sometimes it takes more than one person to change the fate of a club, especially one in transition. Not that hard of a concept to understand.
