Arsenal are reportedly said to be using the influence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in order to lure former teammate Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona this winter.
The France international has endured a mixed run during his 18-month spell with the Blaugrana and of late, he has dropped down the pecking order amid his shrewd relationship with the Spanish club’s hierarchy.
Amidst this, he has already been linked with a potential winter move from the Emirates Stadium and according to The Mirror, the Gunners could use their ‘secret weapon’ in Aubameyang to tempt Dembele to join the club in January.
The Catalan giants had recruited Dembele from Borussia Dortmund last year for a fee potentially rising to £135m but the club are understood to have accepted to the fact that they cannot garner a similar sum from a future sale.
Nonetheless, the Gunners may have to cough up a club-record fee for the former Rennes graduate and this is surely expected to prove a stumbling block for Emery’s men when the transfer window reopens.
Gunners head of football Raul Sanllehi has recently admitted that the club may re-enter the transfer market after the long-term ankle injury for Danny Welbeck but any replacement may not necessarily jump straight into the starting XI.
Moreover, the form of both Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe has been an encouragement out wide this term and the latter could his chance to succeed in the top-flight during the hectic festive schedule ahead.
Gunners boss Unai Emery has also mentioned the name of Under-23 striker Eddie Nketiah, who has gone off the radar since his League Cup heroics against Norwich City last year and he is another who could come into the fray to fill the Welbeck void.
