Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's huge £350k-a-week Arsenal contract cost club staggering £1.2 MILLION per goal

PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG proved to be an expensive flop for Arsenal after signing his lucrative contract extension in 2020.

Much was made of the deal at the time and The Gunners spent big in an attempt to avoid the fiasco surrounding Alex Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey's exits from the club.

Determined not to lose their captain for nothing, Arsenal offered Aubameyang a £350,000 a week contract which he signed after a summer spent considering options elsewhere.

And Arsenal may wish he had made a different decision as his form took a MASSIVE hit after that deal.

He went on to score just 14 Premier League goals before leaving the club this week – Arsenal had to pay out £7million to cancel his contract.

That means Arsenal spent a staggering £1.2m per goal since Aubaemayng renewed his contract.

Aubameyang also threatened to derail Arsenal's season with his ill-discipline, leading Mikel Arteta to leave him out of the squad.

The Spaniard managed to control the situation by stripping Aubameyang of the captaincy and excluding him from the first-team, allowing the rest of his squad to concentrate on winning games.

Most read in Football

LOCKED UP

Mason Greenwood spends third night in cells as striker hit with fresh allegations

DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

My son is devastated as Man Utd won't change his Mason Greenwood shirt

RAPE PROBE

Mason Greenwood quizzed over 'threats to kill' & sex assault after fresh arrest

THE LONG HAAL

Haaland 'wants Madrid transfer but Man City will fight to persuade striker'

FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN NEW CUSTOMER DEALS

Arsenal then made the decision to get rid of the striker's huge salary off the wage bill – cancelling his contract to allow him to sign for Barcelona.

And the club opted not to spend big to land a replacement, as triggering Alexander Isak's £76m release clause was deemed too great a risk.

But signing a new striker will surely be top of Arteta's agenda since Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are out of contract in the summer.

Nketiah was linked to Newcastle on deadline day but Arteta stepped in to block the move.

 Read our Transfer News Live blog for the very latest rumours, gossip and done deals

    Source: Read Full Article