Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang courted by many top European clubs could pave way for Martinelli - Opinion

Many of Europe’s top clubs are courting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the Sun and 90min linked the Arsenal ace to Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Liverpool and Manchester United.

The teams above have won a staggering 18 Champions League titles between them since 1955, with Liverpool winning 6, Barcelona 5, Inter Milan and Manchester United with 3 and Chelsea winning once, according to Statista, with 3 of them in with a chance of winning their respective leagues.

The north London, meanwhile, side currently sit in ninth place in the Premier League table and are five points off a Champions League place, depending on whether Manchester City’s potential two-year European ban goes through (via BBC). This could be eight points if the ban is lifted, which could prove to be too much for Arsenal to catch up on with only ten games remaining.

With that in mind and perhaps if the Gunners fail again it could spell the end for him at the club. Indeed, Gabonese international will have just one year left on his contract at the end of the campaign and if he does not sign a new one he will be free to talk to other teams from January 2021. Interestingly, previous reports have suggested that he has held talks with the club but they have since stalled (via Le10 Sport).

Aubameyang is currently worth £63 million according to Transfermarkt but whether the Gooners could demand that kind of fee given his contract situation is another question.

While losing him would be an obvious blow given his goalscoring, if he does leave, Arsenal may have a long-term replacement in Gabriel Martinelli. Impressively, the 18-year old has already played 26 times for the Gunners and has scored an impressive 10 goals in all competitions (via Transfermarkt). Furthermore, the young Brazilian actually averages more dribbles per game (WhoScored) than his more established teammate, having also operated on the left-hand side too (via Transfermarkt).

With that in mind, potentially selling him to raise funds may not be the worst idea in the world, should they miss out on Champions League qualification.