Arsene Wenger has revealed Arsenal are ‘nowhere near’ close to agreeing a deal with Borussia Dortmund for wantaway striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Arsenal are expected to wrap up a deal for Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the coming days and they will then switch their focus to signing his former Dortmund team-mate, Aubameyang.
The Gunners have already had an opening offer of £44m rejected by Dortmund and Wenger insists they are not close to striking a deal despite the fact talks are ongoing between the two clubs.
“We are nowhere near anything with Dortmund,” the London Evening Standard quote Wenger as saying after Saturday’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. “They are responsible for their own statements. I cannot stand up for what they say.
“If we sign somebody we’ll announce it. I half-announced today Sanchez against Mkhitaryan because that’s likely to happen. All the rest: we are not close at all to anything.”
Arsenal will have to shatter their club transfer record for the second time this season if they want to sign Aubameyang as Dortmund are reportedly demanding in excess of £55m for the Gabon international.
Wenger’s side have earmarked Aubameyang as a top transfer target in the wake of his latest spat with Dortmund earlier this month and remain confident of signing the Gabon international despite Wenger’s latest comments.
A move to reunite Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan should excite Arsenal fans, as both players linked well during their time together at Dortmund. In fact, during the 2015/16 Bundesliga campaign, which was Mkhitaryan’s last season at Dortmund, the pair combined to assist each other for six league goals.
