Arsenal Coach Mikel Arteta On Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Manchester City And Coronavirus

Not even a pandemic can stem the incessant conjecture that feeds some quarters of soccer’s operatic existence. In recent days, Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang questioned his own future at the London club after saying that a new deal with Arsenal is “possibly the most important” of his career, but cryptically adding that “they know why nothing has happened yet.”

It is a public secret that Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta wants to keep the prolific striker, who has scored 61 goals in 97 matches for the Gunners since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2018. At a news conference, the Spaniard’s positive messaging suggested that a deal could be imminent. 

He said: “We have had many discussions with Pierre, his family and his agent, and I am pretty positive we can find the right agreement for all parties. I think it’s our responsibility to make him feel this is the right next step in his career. In order to do that he needs to feel valued.”

“I think he needs to feel he belongs to us and we want him, and then he really needs to believe we can take this club forward the way we want to and that he’s going to be a key player to do that.” 

“At the moment I’m extremely happy with how he’s been performing and behaving, I think I have a really good relationship with him and we can discuss face to face a lot of things. As far as I’m aware he is very happy at the club.”

The Gabon international’s contract runs out in June 2021, but no club will consider the 31-year-old striker a long-term investment. With his comments, Aubameyang could simply be angling for a good deal and one last big payday at Arsenal. 

Arteta admits that finishing in the top four could help contract negotiations and “persuade anybody.”

He said: “It is not about who we want to attract, but it is also about how happy the players are that are here and how convinced they are that they are in the right place. It is our obligation to fight for every trophy.”

Arsenal’s season has been a dramatic one so far, with Arteta replacing the unpopular Unai Emery. The Gunners sit ninth in the Premier League table, and, on Wednesday, they face a daunting away-trip to second-placed Manchester City. The London club enjoys an unbeaten record domestically in 2020, but the match against Pep Guardiola’s team will be a stern test of that invincibility and a first assessment of how Arteta’s team has reacted to the unprecedented three-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

In the build-up to the season’s resumption, Arsenal trashed Charlton 6-0, but lost against promotion-chasing Brentford in two friendlies behind closed doors. The Bees triumphed 3-2 at an empty Emirates Stadium, but Arteta downplayed the result. In his view, the defeat was of little importance given the circumstances; the match served as an opportunity to adapt to the ‘new normal.’

“It was a nice practice to get a little bit of a feeling what it is like to compete again in a match and how it is to play without any crowds and the protocols that we have to go through in order to be in a good and safe to compete as well,” said Arteta. “And then yes, physically we didn’t play a game of football for over three months so we wanted to give the players some minutes and we managed to do that without any injuries.”

“I watched some aspects that I think we can take some advantage of, but I think you have to experience it. I’ve watched some games from the Bundesliga, but then when I was at the Emirates and there is no crowd and you cannot steal that energy, push or drive, the game is different.”

In Manchester, the Spaniard will be reunited with his former mentor Guardiola. At City, Arteta served as an assistant of the former Barcelona coach. Arteta said: “He was an influence for me since I was 15 years old and we met at Barcelona, both as players. If I have to talk about the person he is, his values, the way he has treated me and how he deals with the players and the staff around him, it’s phenomenal.” 

“As a coach, I have learned so much from him, we have spent some amazing moments together, some difficult ones as well, but the experience next to him has been incredible.”