Arteta desperate to keep Aubameyang at Arsenal

Mikel Arteta wants to keep Pierreemerick Aubameyang at Arsenal “under any circumstances” and would like discussions about the forward’s future to take place before the end of the season.

Contract negotiations with the Gabon international were put on hold before Arteta’s appointment in December, with uncertainty surrounding the prospects of the club returning to the Champions League next season.

Aubameyang, 30, has attracted interest from Inter Milan and Barcelona among others and will enter the final year of his contract in the summer. If he were to remain at the Emirates Stadium, he would be able to leave as a free agent in 2021, but Arteta is anxious to tie down the future of a player who has scored 20 goals in 31 appearances this season.

“We will have to do that [discuss Aubameyang’s contract] at some stage and we will see the intentions that we have. His intentions,” Arteta said. “I think it is difficult to predict that context right now. For me it is very easy. I want to keep him under any circumstances.”

Aubameyang will return to Arteta’s line-up against West Ham United tomorrow for the first time since missing a late opportunity in last week’s Europa League defeat by Olympiacos. “He was down,” Arteta said. “He felt responsible for what happened. We all tried to convince him that even though he had the best chance, he was the one who put us in that situation earlier. We need him happy, smiling and full of energy. That’s the way he’s looked for the last few days.”

Lucas Torreira suffered a fractured ankle in Monday’s FA Cup fifth-round win against Portsmouth. “He was quite positive this morning,” the head coach said. “I spoke with him and he was in pain. We don’t really know exactly the extent of the injury. He needs to see the specialist here in London and we will know more about it.”