The entire Arsenal world breathed with relief after the Gunners captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signed a new three-year deal with the club.
The deal, according to many media outlets, will make the Garbon international the highest paid Arsenal player ever above Mezut Ozil’s 35,000 Pound weekly salary. This is equivalent to a staggering UGX1.65bn in a weeks earnings before tax.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had made no secret of the fact that Aubameyang’s signature was his top priority.
As with the rest of the Gunners Community, Arteta knew that Aubameyang’s signature is something to celebrate.
“It was important for Pierre-Emerick to stay with us,” said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
“He’s a superb player with an incredible mentality. Being the player to have taken the least amount of time to reach 50 goals with this club tells you everything you need to know about him and his way of working.
“He’s an important leader for the team and a big part of what we’re building. He wants to be up there with the best players in the world and leave his mark. He can achieve that here.”
Since joining Arsenal, for a then club-record £56m, Aubameyang has scored 72 goals in 111 appearances in all competitions. In 86 Premier League appearances he has scored 55 goals and made 12 assists.
The 31-year-old striker joined the Gunners in January 2018 and won the Premier League Golden Boot in his first full season in 2018-19.
Aubameyang, for all the other talent in Arsenal’s squad, is the man who makes the big difference as proved by two goals in both the FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City and then in the final against Chelsea.
He has also shown great faith and confidence in what Arteta wants to achieve at Arsenal – so it is a day worth celebrating for the Gunners.
But until he put pen to paper, daily rumours about his unresolved future were a source of discomfort for many supporters.
In the end, he reassured the gunners of his commitment to the club.
Aruba said: “Signing for this special club was never in doubt.”
“I believe in Arsenal. We can achieve big things together. We have something exciting here and I believe the best is to come for Arsenal.”
Aubameyang’s contract was due to expire at the end of the 2020-21 season meaning he would have been free to talk to other clubs from January.
The Gabon striker scored in Arsenal’s victory at Fulham on Saturday, the first game of the new Premier League season.
He also scored two goals against Chelsea in the FA Cup final in July, securing the Gunners’ place in next season’s Europa.
This summer Arsenal have signed Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes for 26m euros (£23.14m) from Lille, brought in former Chelsea forward Willian on a free transfer and re-signed Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid.
