Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang heads to London from Dortmund Airport as he prepares to seal £55m Arsenal move
By Matt Maltby For Mailonline07:56 EST 30 Jan 2018, updated 08:01 EST 30 Jan 2018
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to become Arsenal's highest-paid player
- Arsenal have offered him a three-and-a-half-year deal worth £180,000 a week
- The £55m forward was spotted at Dortmund Airport and will travel to London
- Aubameyang's arrival means Olivier Giroud will leave the Gunners for Chelsea
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's £55million move to Arsenal edged even closer on Tuesday after the
Borussia Dortmund striker was spotted at Dortmund Airport.
The Gabon international, who has been the subject of intense interest this month from
the Gunners, was spotted gathering his belongings from a gold Range Rover before heading towards a back entrance.
The 28-year-old forward will be heading to
London later on Tuesday to finalise his move, which will see him become Arsenal's club-record signing.
imminent, with the striker part of a striker merry-go-round.
Arsenal’s signing of
Aubameyang will only be sanctioned once London rivals
Chelsea secure Olivier Giroud and loan out Michy Batshuayi.
In a complicated chain of sale, Dortmund insist they will only sign off the 28-year-old Aubameyang’s release once they have a replacement. They have targeted Batshuayi on loan and Chelsea will agree to that if they can sign Giroud.
On Monday, it looked as if Chelsea were using that to try to drive down the price for the Frenchman. Chelsea have offered £15m plus add-ons but are still short of Arsenal’s £30m valuation as the Gunners demand a premium price for selling to their London rivals.
Once a deal for Giroud is in place, Chelsea will allow Batshuayi to sign for Dortmund on loan, subsequently triggering Aubameyang’s move to the Gunners. .
He will become the best-paid player in the club's history on a three-and-a-half-year contract worth £180,000 per week.
The move for the explosive striker has been driven by Arsenal's recently appointed head of recruitment Sven Mislintat.
Aubameyang does not fit the usual profile of player the Gunners have tried to sign in recent years.
At 28, he is likely to have little resale value. Similarly, his bad-boy reputation represents a shift from the type of personality the club have targeted under Arsene Wenger.
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