Arsenal have confirmed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has left the club by mutual consent.
football.london understands that Aubameyang is expected to move to Barcelona, but formalities still need to be completed between the club and La Liga.
We brought you the news yesterday, but the Gunners have finally confirmed that their former captain has left the Emirates on a permanent deal.
Aubameyang hadn't featured for Arsenal since December following a disciplinary breach, an incident that resulted in him being stripped of the club captaincy.
The 32-year-old was then the subject of interest from a number of clubs, with two outfits in Saudi Arabia willing to cover his salary until the end of the season.
However, Aubameyang, who found the net 92 times in an Arsenal shirt in just 163 appearances, has now completed a permanent move to the Catalan giants.
football.london had reported that his preference was to stay in Europe, and the Gabon international has got his wish after joining the Blaugrana.
The deal looked in doubt on deadline day after difficult talks regarding the financial aspect of his new contract.
Aubameyang had 18-months left on his deal at the Emirates Stadium, but the Gunners no longer have to pay his reported £350,000-per-week wages, meaning they're now estimated to be making a saving of around £25million over the next year-and-a-half.
Nevertheless, his sale means that the club now just have two recognised first-team strikers in the squad, with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah the only real centre-forward options available to Mikel Arteta.
Both of those players are also out of contract in the summer and will leave for free if the club fail to negotiate new deals for the duo.
A statement from Arsenal read: "Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has left the club by mutual agreement.
"Auba joined us from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 and won the Premier League Golden Boot in his first full season in 2018/19. He scored both goals in the 2020 FA Cup final win over Chelsea, and scored again at Wembley as we won the FA Community Shield against Liverpool at the start of last season."
