Aubameyang ‘Freezes’ Contract Talks, Moves Closer To Salah’s Goal Statistic

Arsenal captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has frozen contract talks with the club, according to the Sport. The Gunners are now facing a nervous wait to see if they have successfully persuaded the Gabon striker to stay at the club.

Aubameyang is out of contract next year and is still yet to agree fresh terms. Arsenal may decide to sell the former Borussia Dortmund man this summer, rather than lose him for nothing in 2021.

Negotiations looked to be going well recently, as Aubameyang seemed more likely to sign an extension.

However, the forward is delaying his decision on a new contract as he is waiting for Barcelona to make their move.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took a step closer to a goalscoring statistic led by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

Profiting from a Nicolas Pepe assist, the Gabon international fired past goalkeeper Ederson Moraes to give Arsenal the lead against Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final clash.

Following that effort, Mikel Arteta’s men went into the half-time break with a slim 1-0 advantage at Wembley. He completed his brace in the 71st minute with a close finish from Kieran Tierney’s assist.

That strike was Aubameyang’s 66th goal for the North London outfit since making his debut for Arsenal in February 2018.

Since joining Arsenal, he becomes the second-highest goalscorer in the English top-flight after Egypt and Liverpool’s Salah (68).

After leaving Borussia Dortmund for £55 million plus £5m in further add-ons, he has become a key figure in the club’s attacking line-up.

Last season, he shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot award with his African counterparts and Liverpool stars, Salah and Sadio Mane after scoring a brace in the team’s final league game of the season against Burnley to take his goal tally to 22.

This term, he has been productive in front of goal to achieve personal feats. Thanks to his strike against Leicester City on July 7, 2020, he became the second Arsenal player after Thierry Henry to score at least 20 Premier League goals in consecutive seasons.

Also, he became the sixth-fastest player in English top-flight history to hit the half-century milestone after scoring 50 goals in 77 league games.

That it arrived in fewer league matches than the likes of Sergio Aguero and Thierry Henry tells you just how prolific the Gabon international has been since his arrival from Germany.

Aubameyang’s landmark goal, which arrived for Arsenal against Norwich City, is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he has not been playing in a particularly successful team during his time at Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners finishing sixth in his first season, fifth in his second, and starting the day in 10th as they faced the Canaries.