It may not be long before we have at least one, if not two, major signing announcements at Arsenal FC. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is moving closer towards signing a new contract extension with the north London club. Reportedly, the new deal will be worth £250,000 a week.
Additionally, Chelsea winger Willian is close to reaching an agreement on a three-year deal, believed to be worth in excess of £100,000 a week. We’ll start with the latter, as Chelsea manager Frank Lampard had a lot to say about his former teammate and current player, at least for a little while longer.
“It does not matter if there’s a disappointment from any party, in this situation,” Lampard said on a Zoom video conference call with the media, ahead of his side’s UCL clash at Bayern Munich tomorrow.
“He remains our player at the moment. He was injured for the cup final and injured for tomorrow and he would have given everything to play in those game.”
“I know Willian well, I have seen him. He has carried this injury a little bit in the latter part of the restart. In terms of being disappointed, certainly as a club we have done everything we can to explain [the situation] to Willian.
“Mine and his relationship is very close and I would have no feeling of disappointment if he does move on. He is a fantastic man and a fantastic player. I think he will feel like that about Chelsea. I will leave him to say his own words.
“But I don’t want anyone to try to find a negative attitude. The club have acted very well in this as well.”
The 31-year-old Brazilian will miss out of the UCL clash due to injury.
“If he moves on I personally will wish him well,” Lampard continued.
“I think he [would] leave a hole as a player who has been here for I think seven seasons, being part of successful teams.”
“When I came in and we had a lot of issues in terms of younger players, players back from loan, transitional elements to the group, Willian as the one you looked at and relied on in terms of his experience and quality. He has shown me that all year. He has his own decisions to make.”
Lampard analogized the departure of Willian, one of the team’s best players in the restart, to the sale of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid last summer.
“We as a club will always want to move forward, no matter what,” Lampard added.
“Eden Hazard left last year; the club continues to work in a forward direction which I think we have in many ways. That remains the same, whatever player leaves the club.
“When a player is out of contract, they have the freedom and the right to play wherever they want. You have to understand that if they stay in the league and it is a player of Willian’s quality, for instance, then they will go and contribute to that team.
“We have to accept that and move on. I have no problems with that.”
Regarding Aubameyang, he’s definitely established himself as the best overall player and biggest brand name among individuals on the current squad. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has repeatedly made it very clear that he wants Auba to stay, as a major piece to build around.
According to ESPN, the announcement of the new Aubameyang extension could come as early as next week.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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