..AND GIROUD COULD BE NEXT

OLIVIER GIROUD could be the next big-name departure from Arsenal in a player-plus-cash move for Pierreemerick Aubameyang.

Arsene Wenger refused to rule out Giroud’s exit on the back of Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott leaving the Emirates in what is becoming the biggest transfer shake-up of his reign.

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hansjoachim Watzke has asked for Giroud to be part of any deal for Aubameyang and the German club also tried to sign the France star last summer.

Arsenal are set to complete a sensational swap deal for Sanchez, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan coming the other way, and United are ready to make the Chile star the highest paid player in the Premier League.

Wenger is also still in the market for West Brom defender Jonny Evans.

When asked whether Giroud could be part of the deal if Aubameyang comes in, Wenger replied: “You started with an ‘if’. ‘If’ can be many theories. At the moment, I cannot tell you much more.

“These kinds of things, it’s better when it’s secret and when you don’t come out on it. And you announce it when it’s over the line.”

Giroud (left, with Wenger), still a week away from fitness after a hamstring injury, was interested in moving in the summer when Dortmund lined him up to replace Aubameyang, but neither deal happened.

Now, it could be back on, with

Giroud keen to get game time, ahead of the World Cup, while Dortmund are set to sell Aubameyang for £60million after a string of fall-outs that have seen him fined and disciplined for missing team meetings.

But Arsenal’s new head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat – who was formerly in a similar role at Dortmund – has vouched for Aubameyang.