FOOTBALL Wenger told to clamp down on player’s antics End the Pierre show!
ARSENE WENGER has been warned he must clamp down quickly on bad boy Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – or else wave goodbye to £60million.
The enigmatic Gabon striker could be making his way to the Emirates to fill the gap left by Alexis Sanchez’s defection to Manchester United – but he will arrive with a lengthy rap sheet.
The 28- year- old Borussia Dortmund forward is Wenger’s top January target and an opening bid has been made – but he has built up a hefty reputation after a variety of scrapes.
And 1990 World Cup winner Thomas Berthold believes the Gunners boss needs to lay down the law quickly.
Berthold, a defender with Bayern Munich and Stuttgart, is one of Germany’s top pundits and has watched the striker’s development since he arrived at the Westfalenstadion five years ago.
Escapades
hope they know his personality and how he works. I assume that they do and they understand what he is about on the training pitch.
“If they don’t, his mentality won’t fit and it would be better that the deal doesn’t go ahead because, in my opinion, it would not work.”
If fit and focused, there is no question that Arsenal are bringing in a top marksman. This season he has found the net 13 times and provided three assists in 15 outings.
He played a crucial role in Dortmund’s cup- winning campaign last term, scoring a goal a game in 31 appearances to become only the second African player to win two German Golden Boot awards – after former Leeds United favourite Tony Yeboah.
Aubameyang is blessed with blistering pace – he once ran 30 metres in 3.9 seconds while in AC Milan’s youth team.
But his reputation as a goalscorer is matched by his wayward antics off the field.
He was dropped earlier this season after turning up late for training on three separate occasions.
He was also left out of his club’s 1-1 draw with Wolfsburg last weekend following an unspecified breach of discipline.
He was reprimanded by Dortmund’s director of football Michael Zorc, who said: “We simply cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour. I don’t know what’s going on in his head right now. He’s always been professional before – but we can’t continue like this.”