Arsenal beg captain to stay after glory double

ARSENAL captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was celebrating a Wembley double last night as the Gunners won a record 14th FA Cup final but refused to give any indication he is staying at the club. Manager Mikel Arteta seems convinced the win will persuade his two-goal hero to sign a new contract. But the 31-year-old striker, rumoured to be on his way, with Barcelona and Real Madrid chasing his signature, sounded anything but committed and several TV pundits believe he may have played his last game for Arsenal. Aubameyang had cancelled out Christian Pulisic’s opener from the penalty spot, before a world-class finish earned Arteta a first trophy since arriving at the club in December and a place in next year’s Europa League, their 25th successive season in Europe. Asked what he could say about his future, the Gabon striker said: ‘Nothing. This is about today and the trophy, that’s it.’

He has been stalling over wage demands believed to be in the region of £250,000 a week but Arteta said: ‘He wants to stay and it’s just about getting the deal done. He knows what I think about him. I want to build a squad around him. I think moments like that will help him to believe we are on the right path and he is a big part of it. He is loved by everyone at the club. I think he will (stay).’

Aubameyang made just one mistake during the final. Fortunately for Gunners fans, it came when he was trying to lift the trophy. After struggling to separate the Cup from its base, he decided to bring both to the team before dropping the trophy on the floor to the disbelief of his team-mates.

Arteta paid tribute to the efforts of his players, saying: ‘It was a difficult start when we conceded so early, but if I know something about these players it’s that we weren’t going to give it up.

‘They reacted straight away. We played probably the best 30 minutes since I arrived and from the equaliser, we went on and generated belief.

‘It is a double reward for us. It is really important in every way for this club to be in Europe.’

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard must now lift his squad for the resumption of the Champions League campaign. He said: ‘We started well, scored and had other chances. We can only blame ourselves.

‘We became complacent, played short passes like it is a bit of a stroll — a final can never be a stroll and we allowed them back into the game.’