Chelsea will welcome Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as a new player this summer less than nine months after he left Arsenal to join Barcelona. The striker fell out with manager Mikel Arteta due to several disciplinary breaches which were further detailed in the recent All or Nothing Amazon documentary.
Chelsea are set to pay around £6.5million for Aubameyang, with left-back Marcos Alonso going in the opposite direction, football.london understands. Arsenal signed their long-term replacement for the striker role earlier in the summer with Gabriel Jesus coming in from Manchester City.
Having already scored three goals and added a further three assists in five games it looks like the right choice. However, there are a number of ramifications from the imminent Chelsea move that the Gunners will have to deal with.
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The first is the inevitable questions that will come should the striker start scoring again. Whether or not the club made the right decision with Aubameyang now at one of their apparent direct rivals for Champions League qualification.
Why Arsenal were unable to land a fee for the striker in January has been discussed. football.london broke down the reasons why Barcelona have been able to financial benefit less than a year after Edu worked so hard to lose the forward for nothing.
Arsenal did not insert a sell-on clause into Aubameyang’s contract, according to the Daily Star. They won’t receive any financial reward with this move.
Reports suggest they are looking to insert a sell-on into Hector Bellerin’s move, according to Charles Watts. However, if it transpires that the move is for a single season, only a January transfer would see Arsenal benefit.
However, that is perhaps a clear sign of some regret this wasn’t agreed with the Catalan side for Aubameyang. That said, the Gunners have so far been fine without their former club captain.
Lastly, Aubameyang will make his Emirates Stadium return this season. Whereas Arsenal would have had to wait for a potential Champions League failure from Barcelona to see the Blaugrana drop into the Europa League for a meeting, now a Premier League clash will guarantee it.
Chelsea are due to travel to the Emirates on April 29 in what could be a Champions League qualification decider. The reception the forward will get could be interesting and perhaps could depend on the situation of Arsenal by that point.
Ultimately, Chelsea are adding a striker who can score goals which is something they needed. But whilst Aubameyang scored plenty in La Liga, his form in the Premier League was poor prior to his exit.
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