Whether it has any bearing or not on his desire to move to Chelsea or not remains to be seen, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang clearly still has some level of affection for Arsenal given his answer to a difficult quickfire question.
The former Gunners captain joined Barcelona in January after an acrimonious departure which saw him fall out with manager Mikel Arteta, who sanctioned the termination of his contract.
Aubameyang subsequently enjoyed a bright start to his Barcelona career, scoring 13 goals in all competitions, helping Xavi’s side salvage something from a testing season and qualify for the Champions League.
Barcelona’s perilous financial position, allied to the acquisition of Robert Lewandowski, has thrown Aubameyang’s future into serious doubt, however, with Chelsea intent on testing the waters as they step up their own bid for a new striker.
Despite their own team having moved on, meanwhile, with the signing of Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal fans would no doubt still find it hard to countenance the prospect of Aubameyang turning out in Chelsea blue.
At least, however, they’re unlikely to ever see him representing their north London rivals after he gave a pretty decisive answer and chose Real Madrid over Tottenham, pulling a trademark grin, during a Q&A session with ESPN.
Reports in Spain, meanwhile, claim Aubameyang’s representatives are currently in talks with Barcelona’s hierarchy to ascertain their intention with regards to the striker’s future.
Aubameyang, who was handed a new squad number earlier this week, is minded to remain at Camp Nou but is willing to listen to any proposal Chelsea are prepared to offer.
The signing of Lewandowski could compromise Aubameyang’s playing time, certainly in his favoured central striking role, but speaking last month he insisted the pair could work together, as they did for a solitary season at Dortmund.
He said: ‘I was really excited because I know him well we played together at Dortmund and had some nice times over there.
‘I was just happy and when this was official we are reunited and we had some fun words about the past, but I’m really happy because this is how Barcelona will compete, with great strikers and that’s what this club is all about.
‘Obviously I think we have more experience, we can maybe do better than the past in Dortmund I am sure about that. Personally, I will try to give my best and I’m sure he will do it. We will hope we have better numbers than in the past.’
Asked if manager Xavi had expanded on his plan to accommodate two world class strikers, he said: ‘Yes a little bit.
‘He was talking to all of us that we have to compete this year to win titles. Of course when you talk about trophies we need a competitive team.
‘That’s why we have a lot of strikers and midfielders and defenders. This is the way to achieve things this season.’
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