Paul Merson believes Pierre-Emerick is exactly the kind of player that is missing at Manchester United.
The former Arsenal midfielder turned Sky Sports pundit thinks Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side would immediately become a ‘major force’ with the prolific forward amongst their ranks.
The 30-year-old’s contract runs out next summer and there have been suggestions in numerous reports that United are keen on capitalising on the uncertainty surrounding his contract.
According to the Sun, United are ‘circling around’ Aubameyang and are eyeing a possible £50m transfer this summer.
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Arsenal will be desperate to negotiate a new contract for their Gabonese star but there is no guarantees that he will stay at the club if he has ambitions to play Champions League football.
This could be a case of Gunners head of football Raul Sanllehi and technical director Edu failing to learn from the club’s previous bosses’ mistakes from letting their best player leaving the club to a direct rival.
And Merson thinks the addition of Auabameyang, alongside a creative option of the quality of Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish, could turn the club into serious competitors.
“Aubameyang is what Manchester United are missing. He is a goal scorer and goal scorers are priceless,” he wrote in his Sky Sports column.
“You couldn’t help but be impressed with their performance and if they were to sign Aubameyang and they also got someone like a Jack Grealish, are they big players? They would be a major force, in my opinion.
They are crying out for someone who is going to score them 20 to 25 goals, and that’s what Aubameyang can bring. He gets you 25 goals without even breaking sweat. Add a Grealish if they can get him and then you’ve got Bruno Fernandes as well playing in behind a striker, Manchester United will be a major force.”
Solskjaer has been left without a proven natural goalscorer in his squad since Romelu Lukaku was not replaced in the summer. Aubameyang’s prolificness in front of goal cannot be ignored; the versatile forward is behind just Jamie Vardy in this season’s Premier League scoring charts.
And with United looking far more likely than Arsenal to compete in the Champions League next season, it is not implausible that the club can match Aubameyang’s ambitions and he makes the switch to Old Trafford.
But Aubameyang has a great affiliation with Arsenal fans and we still feel it is highly unlikely he will leave North London for Manchester.
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