Here are the Arsenal evening headlines on Wednesday, May 27.
Aubameyang swap deal claim
Amid a massive summer in which Arsenal must make a decision regarding the future of their club captain and top goalscorer, reports claim that a sensational swap deal involved Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele could be on the cards.
Mundo Deportivo via TeamTalk report that Barcelona are ready to cut their losses with the injury-ravaged Dembele. Dembele cost north of £100 million in 2017 but has failed to win a starting role at the Nou Camp ever since.
Meanwhile, Aubameyang’s contract expires next season and Arsenal could be forced to sell as he stalls negotiations regarding an extension, especially with Champions League qualification looking doubtful for the fourth successive season.
Barcelona pursued Aubameyang in January amid their own striker crisis and hold longstanding interest. Meanwhile, the Gunners have been tracking Dembele for some time and head of football Raul Sanllehi hails from the Catalan giants. With the two clubs desperate to gain some value from difficult situations, this sensational swap deal could be in the offing.
Claude Puel praises Saliba
When Arsenal signed an 18-year-old centre-back who had less than a season of first-team experience for £26 million, there was a degree of projection involved in the deal. However, after a year on loan at Saint-Etienne, the club that Arsenal signed William Saliba from last summer, it seems as though the Frenchman is not just one for the future.
According to his manager at Saint-Etienne, Claude Puel, who has experience of the Premier League with stints at Leicester City and Southampton, at just 19, Saliba can be a regular starter at the Emirates.
“He is ready,” Puel told The Athletic. “He is a fantastic player. He is a young player but with a lot of maturity in his play. Also, in his life. He is a player with a good feeling and spirit.
“It will be hard for us without him but I think it is a fantastic opportunity for Arsenal. I think they need a good centre-back and have done for some time, and I think William is the right player.
“I think he can play all the time in the first team at Arsenal.”
Arsenal suffer Hakimi blow
Amid interest from Arsenal, on-loan Borussia Dortmund full-back Archif Hakimi could return to the German side next season following the end of his two-year loan deal from Real Madrid.
Hakimi is set to return to Madrid at the end of the season with his future up in the air. But after a superb season in which he racked up 40 appearances and provided eight goals and ten assists in a lung-busting right wing-back role, Dortmund are keen to extend his stay with the club, either with another loan deal or via a permanent transfer.
And AS report that Madrid are considering their options, too, with growing interest in Dortmund centre-forward, Erling Haaland, who has a sensational 10 goals in 11 Bundesliga games since signing from RB Salzburg in January.
It is said that Haaland will not be available until 2021 or 2022, but Madrid are willing to use Hakimi as a makeweight in their pursuit of the Norwegian superstar, including sending him back to Dortmund on loan next season.
This spells trouble for Arsenal who are keen to bolster their defensive options this summer, of which Hakimi was a potential target.
