Arsenal boss Arteta says Aubameyang ‘pretty convinced’ on staying

Mikel Arteta believes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is “pretty convinced” he will stay at Arsenal but admitted winning the FA Cup would strengthen the club’s attempts to tie him to a new contract.

The 31-year-old’s existing deal expires next summer and ESPN revealed earlier this month that he is seeking a three-year extension worth up to £250,000-a-week.

– Stream FA Cup games on ESPN+- Insider Notebook: Arsenal vs. Ozil, McKennie interest- Ratings: Sterling gets 3/10 | Aubameyang 8/10 with brace- FA Cup Replay: Watch Arsenal down Man City (U.S. only)

Negotiations hinge in part on whether the Gunners qualify for European football next season, a prospect they moved a step closer towards on Saturday evening with an impressive 2-0 FA Cup semifinal win over Manchester City.

Aubameyang scored both goals against Pep Guardiola’s side and Arteta said: “The way I look at him when I speak with him, he sounds pretty convinced. But obviously if he can see that success and the direction we are taking is the right one, I think he will be more positive about it yes.”

Aubameyang gave Arsenal a surprise lead on 17 minutes and added another 18 minutes from time, leaving Pep Guardiola’s men with no way back, ending their chances of winning three trophies this season following last campaign’s domestic treble.

Arsenal, record 13-time winners of the FA Cup, will play either Chelsea or Manchester United in the final on Aug. 1. (Stream live on ESPN+ in the U.S.)

• Insider Notebook: Ozil vs. Arsenal• Sources: Kovac to replace Monaco’s Moreno• Solskjaer hits back at Lampard, Mou• Setien unfazed by Messi outburst• Cops probe ‘infected vs. non-infected’ match

A look at the league table, in which Arsenal are ninth, offers a reality check, but 38-year-old Arteta has every chance to claim a trophy just months into his first managerial role.

He said after the game that that there was still a “big margin” between Arsenal and the likes of City and Liverpool, but the team appear to be heading in the right direction again after seasons of drift.

“Extremely happy and proud of the players,” Arteta said. “When you play this team, you have to give your best and when you have the opportunities you must make the most of them.

“There is a great chemistry between them [the players] and they really believe in what we are trying to do.”

Guardiola would have been the first to congratulate his former assistant, and the loss will be softened by what is still possible in the Champions League where City hold a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid before their home last-16 second leg.

The defeat by Arsenal was hard to swallow all the same.

“We started slow and without the way you have to play,” Guardiola said. “We are always ready many times but today we were not.

“They defended well. It happened [when Arsenal played] against Liverpool too so we knew it. But we were not good.”