Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has ‘already decided’ to leave Arsenal despite FA Cup win, says Rio Ferdinand
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Rio Ferdinand claims Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s mind is made up over his Arsenal future, with an exit looming.
Captain Aubameyang scored twice at Wembley on Saturday as the Gunners came from behind to win their 14th FA Cup with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Chelsea.
Some fans feared that the final could be the Gabon striker’s last game in red and white with his contract due to expire next summer and no agreement yet reached over an extension, with Arsenal no doubt eager to avoid losing their star man for nothing in 2021.
However, head coach Mikel Arteta is optimistic that the experience of lifting the FA Cup will help convince him to stay put long-term.
Aubameyang swiftly brushed aside questions over his future immediately after the final whistle at Wembley, insisting that he was not thinking about the matter as he focused solely on celebrating the triumph with his team-mates.
And Ferdinand – covering the final as a pundit on BT Sport – took such a dismissive reaction as a sign that Aubameyang’s mind is already made up over an Emirates Stadium departure.
“I think he’s gone from that reaction,” he said, per The Mail. “He’s already decided.
“‘I’m going to enjoy this with my team-mates’ – he sounds like someone who is going elsewhere.
“Arsenal need to do all they can to keep him. He was unbelievable [today], Jesus.
“But the Arsenal fans adore him. Is he going to find that elsewhere in his career?”
However, Arteta remains steadfast in his belief that Aubameyang will stay at Arsenal, expressing a desire to keep the former Borussia Dortmund frontman at the centre of his rebuild in north London.
“He [Aubameyang] knows what I think about him, I want to build a squad around him,” Arteta told the BBC. “I want him to stay, it is about getting the deal done.
“I think moments like that will help him to believe we are on the right path and he is a big part of it. He is loved by everyone at the club. I think he will [stay].”
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