Borussia Dortmund chief still hopeful of convincing Aubameyang to reject Arsenal move
KEY POINTS
- Arsenal are said to have agreed personal terms with Aubameyang.
- The Gabon internatonal was left out of the Dortmund squad for their weekend game against Hertha Berlin.
Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc is not giving up on the possibility of retaining their top marksman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang beyond the January transfer window despite reports suggesting that he has already agreed terms with Arsenal.
The Gunners have identified the Gabon international as a potential replacement for Alexis Sanchez, who is close to completing a move to Manchester United. It is believed that Arsenal have already agreed a three and a half year deal with the forward worth around €190,000-a-week (£168,000, $232,000).
The Dortmund chief, however, revealed that there was no concrete offer on the table for the striker and believes the situation can still be resolved. Aubameyang has fallen out with the German club's hierarchy — not for the first time — after he was suspended for their game against Wolfsburg last weekend for missing a team meeting.
The Gabonese forward was expected to return to the squad for their 1-1 draw against Hertha Berlin on Friday (19 January) after Peter Stoger revealed that he was back in training. But the striker was not included in the squad and was left behind in Dortmund after it was revealed that he was not in the right mental state to play at the weekend.
"We're still planning on Aubameyang and we made a sporting decision today, but he cannot help us today," Zorc said, as quoted by the London Evening Standard.
"There is nothing real on the table, there is a lot of air. It's not too late to be able to solve the situation," the Bundesliga side's sporting director added.
It is believed that Aubameyang closing in on a move to Arsenal was the reason for his omission and Stoger hinted at the same after revealing that the player was "thinking about somewhere else" in the final training session.
"The whole week he was ok in training, only in the final session was he thinking about somewhere else," Dortmund boss Stoger explained talking about the reason for Aubameyang's exclusion from the squad.
