Arsenal's transfer business over the past season has been ruthless. Edu and Mikel Arteta have stopped at nothing to make sure they have the right profile, ability and character available in their squad to fulfill their long-term project at the Emirates Stadium.
Over £150million was spent last summer in reshaping the options available to the head coach and similar has been done this year, with over £100million spent on further additions. It has kept the Gunners on an upwards trajectory in recent times, with club officials and increasingly, supporters finally believing they can make a return to the top four.
Even after such a busy stage of transition, Arteta has failed to rule out the potential for further business, should the opportunity arise. "We are really active as you can see with incomings and outgoings. Everything is still open, it’s a long window, a lot has happened, it’s incredible how much business the clubs have done across the Premier League and it shows how competitive it is and this season is not going to stop that," he said.
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Ruthless decisions regarding who to sign in the market have also come with choices over who should stay or leave within the squad. One high-profile figure at the centre of that has been Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who left the club in late January as part of a mutual termination of his contract.
The Gabon international was then free to join Barcelona, but with the arrival of some worldwide stars such as Robert Lewandowski, suggestions over an exit have arisen. London rivals Chelsea have also appeared as suitors for the striker's signature, with Aubameyang having previously worked under boss Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund.
Should he leave to join the Blues, Fabrizio Romano reports that a fee of €30million (£25million) has been set by the Blaugrana for any potential exit. It's a fee that the Gunners have missed out on by letting their former captain leave, though the circumstances may have pointed towards an exit at the time.
It backs up a potential fear within Arsenal that has been reported by the Sun. They claim that club officials were concerned by comments made by Edu surrounding the sale of unwanted stars over the course of the summer.
The former midfielder claimed that letting high-earning but underperforming players leave by a pay off of their contract was an "investment" for the longer term project. This may put the club at a weaker bargaining point compared to letting some of these players leave for fees, something that may be proven by the latest Aubameyang saga.
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