Extend or sell, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a blessing either way

Arsenal are trying to figure out what to do with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but whatever they decide on, the outcome is the same—a win.

You don’t often come across situations where no matter the outcome, the club wins. But that is where Arsenal currently find themselves with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and it’s making me skeptical of how confident I am. I’m starting to wonder how the club can screw this up.

Just kidding, not really. Moreso, I’m just amazed that however the club decides to resolve this Aubameyang situation, I’m equally excited.

Option No. 1, we give him a contract extension. The guy who, after this year, will have won the Golden Boot two years in a row. The guy who, if you ask SkySports, without him we’d be getting relegated.

This guy is a part of the culture here. He’s become a fan favorite, he has excellent chemistry with just about everyone around him. He makes them better, he makes this attack better, he makes this club better.

So yeah, if we hand him a contract extension, then yeah I think I’m more than a little excited. If he can still do backflips, then don’t talk to me about his age being a concern.

Option No. 2, we sell one of the best strikers in the world, likely to the moneybags of La Liga. The fee has been rumored to be upwards of £70m, but even if it falls slightly short of that, it’s still enough money to completely cover a facelift in the midfield, add necessary personnel to the defense, reinforce the attack with whatever is needed (but not much is needed, with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka set to take over for Aubameyang).

That’s a lot of money. And as I have spent so much time calculating the perfect summer, with Dani Ceballos, Thomas Partey and Dayot Upamecano set to run up a bill of upwards of £130m, being able to knock that in half by selling Aubameyang is far from the worst thing in the world. In fact, it’s damn exciting. It’s something truly special.

I don’t want to see Aubameyang leave, but thinking about it from a standpoint of what comes after, it’s still just as exciting as if we get him to stay.

There’s still a lot to be said and figured out in this whole contract escapade, but for now, no matter what happens, it’s grounds for excitement.