Lacazette: We’re all in the dark over Auba’s future
ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE says the Arsenal squad is waiting like everyone else to see if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will stay at the club.
Aubameyang, who is set to captain Arsenal tomorrow for their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, has just one year left on his contract and is considering his future.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hopes to persuade Aubameyang to stay, but the 31-year-old is attracting interest from several clubs, including Barcelona and Inter Milan.
Aubameyang (near left, with Lacazette) is Arsenal’s top scorer this season and earlier this month he became the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League goals in the club’s history.
Lacazette believes that goalscoring record means the Gabon striker is already an Arsenal legend. He says his team-mates are desperate for Aubameyang to stay but admits they are in the dark over his future.
“He is already one of the legends [at Arsenal] because of the amount of goals he’s scored in so few games,” Lacazette said. “But, to be honest, we stopped talking about this (his future) because at the beginning it can be funny.
“But long term you can start to be annoying because you want something that is not maybe the way we’d like and I don’t want to be the guy being a bit annoying [by keep asking the same questions].
“So, we don’t really speak about his future. I’m just going to wait like everyone else. And I just hope he’s going tell me before the press.”
Aubameyang is waiting to see if Arsenal will be in a position to challenge for honours over the next few seasons before deciding his future.
Tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final is an ideal opportunity for Arteta to prove to the forward that he can make Arsenal a force again.
The Gunners go into the match on the back of a win over Premier League champions Liverpool on Wednesday — and that win has given them hope they can cause an upset at Wembley.
“I wouldn’t say we’re in the form of our life,” Lacazette told beIN Sports. “But, of course, we are happy because it was a great performance against the best team in England this season. This victory can give us life to expect to go to Europe next season.”
After resting players for Wednesday’s win, Aubameyang, Dani Ceballos and Hector Bellerin are due to return against City. Lacazette is expected to lead the line again and, after a difficult season, the striker heads to Wembley with three goals in his last four games.
“When I scored against Wolves [earlier this month], it gave me more confidence in my game,” he said. “I know I have the love of my team-mates, and it’s helped me a lot.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal confirmed last night that Gabriel Martinelli will be out until the end of the year with a knee injury. But there is positive news on the injury front, as goalkeeper Bernd Leno is running outside as he recovers from his knee injury.