Arsenal, along with the rest of most global football, are off indefinitely, so let’s do some transfer talk instead. If there’s one thing that can survive a global pandemic, it’s transfer rumors. There are reports stating the Premier League could return to action in June, and play matches behind closed doors.
That is of course contingent on how well containment and mitigation of the coronavirus pandemic goes in between now then. Until football starts up again we have mostly just transfer talk to do, and before we get started I encourage you to check out our all Arsenal transfer rumor starting XI and our optimal Arsenal XI with all transfer targets acquired and key players retained.
We start with the latest on forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose contract expires in the summer.
He’s been heavily linked with FC Barcelona and Manchester United, and should the Gabon international be sold to the latter, former Arsenal star Charlie Nicholas would be in favor of it, provided one condition- United pay £100 million him!
“It depends what people put down as a risk,” Nicholas, now a pundit for Sky Sports, wrote in his Sporting Life column.
“You give him to Man Utd. If he was to go there, does it help Arsenal? No. If Aubameyang wants to go, you ideally want him out of the Premier League, that is the general aspect. If I was Aubameyang, he will be thinking about what happened to Alexis Sanchez.
“Would he want to be a part of a superstar reload at Manchester United? Is there a great appeal to that?” (Football.London has more on this concept at this link)
And if Auba moves on, who will Arsenal replace him with? Maybe Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, according to French outlet Le10 Sport.
The French international, valued in the neighborhood of €40 million, is also reportedly wanted by Everton, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund.
Finally, the first signing of the summer transfer window, when it officially opens, will be…PSG out of contract left back Layvin Kurzawa. That is according to todofichajes, who claim the 27-year-old, available on a free, has penned a five year deal with the Gunners. Arsenal had to fight off Barca in order to get him, claims TalkSPORT.
So why does Kurzawa want out of the city of light?
It’s because of “a lack of playing time,” writes NBC Sports, “used sparingly this season to the tune of 14 Ligue 1 appearances, losing minutes to the likes of Juan Bernat and Abdou Diallo at left-back for much of the campaign.”
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 appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link