London could once again bring in former Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Chelsea keen to sign him.
Should the Blues agree a deal for the Gabon international, Aubameyang will have the chance to prove the Gunners were wrong to let him go – just like former Arsenal man Olivier Giroud did.
As revealed in more detail in the recent Amazon Prime docuseries ‘All or Nothing: Arsenal’, Aubameyang was banned from the Emirates last season after Gunners boss Mikel Arteta grew tired of his captain’s behavior. then.
Known to Arsenal director of football operations Richard Garlick as a “catalogue of offences”, Arteta kept a “file” recording each of Aubameyang’s disciplinary warnings.
And when the Gunners skipper returned late to training after visiting his mother in France, Arteta stripped him of his captaincy and banned him from training with the team.
Later, after being kicked out of matchday squads, he was released and eventually signed for Barcelona on a permanent deal in January.
Now, having scored 13 goals for the Spanish giants in 24 outings, Aubameyang has been linked with Arsenal’s two Premier League rivals, Chelsea and Manchester United.
However, if he chose Stamford Bridge, he would have the chance to emulate exactly what current AC Milan striker Giroud did at Arsenal while at the Bridge – score against the club that left him go and win trophies.
Seeking regular playing time, Giroud had asked then-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger for more minutes to ensure he was in France’s World Cup squad 2018.
But his request was in vain and he soon landed a contract at Stamford Bridge in January ahead of the tournament.
Speaking to The Sun afterwards, he said: “When I had the opportunity to join Chelsea and stay in the Premier League, it was easy.
“This Arsenal page is now over and it’s a new chapter for my career. Now I’m 100% focused on the Blues and achieving our goals.
“I’ve been at the best club in England for the past few years because Chelsea have won more trophies than anyone else. Chelsea are a huge club and we want to fight for the title every year.”
The Blues managed just three Premier League wins for the rest of this season, but Giroud’s bold statement soon paid off.
He went on to win the World Cup with his country.
Then, at the end of the 2019 campaign, Giroud opened the scoring against his former club Arsenal in the Europa League final, kicking off Les Bleus’ 4-1 victory.
Most notably, the former Chelsea star also won the Champions League and FA Cup, before joining Italy in 2021.
On top of that, the Frenchman finished above his former club Arsenal with Chelsea in the Premier League the entire time he was at Bridge.
Of course, Arsenal now seem to have found the perfect striker in Gabriel Jesus.
But should Aubameyang join the Blues – who again finished the season higher than the Gunners last season – the Gabon star has the chance to follow in Giroud’s footsteps and show Arteta what he’s been missing.
Even Arsenal legend Ray Parlor fears it could happen.
“For me [Aubameyang is] a no-brainer for Chelsea, it really is,” he told talkSPORT. “[Timo] Werner has returned to RB Leipzig so they are missing goals.
“So Aubameyang will definitely score. Before signing his new contract at Arsenal, he was brilliant. He won the FA Cup for Arsenal single-handedly.
“So that would be a good signing, if you can get him for a season, he’ll come back to prove people wrong, that’s what he’ll try to do.”
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