EXCLUSIVE
BARCELONA and Real Madrid are ready to swoop for PierreEmerick Aubameyang if he decides to quit Arsenal.
The Gunners have been trying to negotiate a new contract with Aubameyang, below, but fears are growing the striker is reluctant to commit while Unai Emery remains in charge.
That has alerted Spanish sides Barca and Real, who are both monitoring the situation and have the 30-year-old on a list of potential targets for next summer.
Aubameyang is out of contract in 2021 and Arsenal do not want the £57million star to go into the final year of his deal and risk losing him for nothing.
Arsenal have slipped to eighth place in the Premier League after failing to win in their past five games and unrest is growing over Emery’s leadership. locals going crazy for the chance to see the Red Devils in a game dubbed the biggest in Astana’s history.
A club source said: “Astana regard the visit of United as an honour and a privilege. We could have sold out 10 times over.”
The Astana Arena holds only 30,254 but boasts a retractable roof and controlled temperatures inside, which may be needed with United facing freezing temperatures as low as minus-25.
Paul Pogba is injured so Solskjaer will hand more game time to rising stars such as Mason Greenwood, Axel Tuanzebe, Brandon Williams and James Garner.
United beat Astana 1-0 at Old Trafford in September.
Barcelona want to add another big-name forward, with Luis Suarez turning 33 in January and Antoine Griezmann failing to hit top gear so far at the Nou Camp.
Real also have Aubameyang on their radar, the former Dortmund striker having admitted it was his childhood dream to play for the club.
But insiders believe Barca are the most likely to make a move. The Gunners meanwhile, have launched a major security operation to stop Eintracht Frankfurt fans getting into tomorrow’s Europa League clash at the Emirates.
They are desperate to avoid a repeat of the chaos when thousands of extra Cologne supporters gained access to the stadium two years ago, with Eintracht currently under a UEFA travel ban.