Arsenal chief Ivan Gazidis has reportedly flown to Dortmund alongside head of recruitment Sven Mislintat in order to push through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s proposed move to the Emirates Stadium.
The Gabon international has emerged as a prime target to reinforce the attack front this month with Alexis Sanchez having already finalised his move to Manchester United in a swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
A recent report suggested that the Gunners had failed with an opening £44m bid for the former Saint-Etienne man, and according to Bild, the club have stepped up their pursuit with Gazidis taking it to himself to secure an agreement.
Picture courtesy of Bild:
Here mate pic.twitter.com/A9uxjjiWQT
— Aaron Catterson-Reid (@ReidTheGame) January 21, 2018
More photos. Sven Mislintat and Huss Fahmy, in Dortmund. pic.twitter.com/F1rE9UIkP0
— Dean Batchelor (@RealDeanB) January 21, 2018
Meanwhile, a print version of Kicker now suggests the clubs have begun a second round of negotiations with Olivier Giroud offered as a makeweight for the 28-year-old marksman. However, the deal would only involve Giroud joining Bvb on a short-term loan for the season with the Gunners prepared to increase the overall transfer package to £52m.
Should the deal go through, Aubameyang would be reunited with ex-Dortmund teammate Mkhitaryan, who is due to seal his switch from Old Trafford depending on how quick the club have his work permit ratified.
As things stand, the Gabonese footballer is unlikely to arrive in time to be registered for the League Cup semi-final second leg versus Chelsea, and even if, there is a prior agreement, the striker requires at least one training session in order to come to terms with the team’s style of play.
Arsenal could bank on the experience of Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal after their return from respective injuries, and their influence should provide the added security at the back to cope with the Blues’ attack on Wednesday night.
