Arsenal could pocket £26m after Aubameyang update in last 24 hours – pundit
It might seem like “bad business” to let Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang go for free but Arsenal must try and offload his enormous wages this month.
That is the view of ex-England and Man City full-back Danny Mills, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the unwanted Arsenal striker.
The Daily Mail reported yesterday (20 January) Saudi club Al-Hilal are prepared to take Aubameyang on loan and pay all of his £350,000-a-week wages.
It is claimed Saudi Arabia’s most successful club would be willing to take him until the end of the season with an option to make the deal permanent.
The 32-year-old has been frozen out by Mikel Arteta after being stripped of the captaincy last month (14 December) for a disciplinary breach.
He is out of contract next summer (2023) and with wages of £350,000-a-week, he could cost the club a whopping £26.25million over the next 18 months if a solution is not found.
“What are their options?” Mills told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Does the manager want him? If he doesn’t want him then it’s a case of what can you get for him?
“Is anybody going to buy him at the moment? Maybe not is the answer to that.
“Are they going to pay a loan fee? Probably not but you want them to pay some of his wages.
“Getting him off the wage bill almost frees up all of that £350,000-a-week. That’s quite hefty.
“It might seem like bad business but they’ve already spent the money on him, that’s gone. If he runs his contract out, you’re not going to get it back anyhow.
“You might as well look at it like, what can we get between now and the end of his deal? If you can save £350,000-a-week now, it’s definitely worth doing.”
In other news, an injury guru has revealed ‘common sense is out the window’ at Arsenal after Bukayo Saka images emerge.