Arsenal have increased their contract offer to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and are now prepared to offer him £300,000-a-week to stay at the Emirates, according to reports.
The Gabonese forward has enjoyed another outstanding season in front of goal, firing his team to FA Cup glory with two goals against Chelsea at Wembley, while he is also a key leadership figure at the club.
But, Aubameyang has less than one year remaining on his current deal and Arsenal feel they will need to sell their prolific goalscorer if he does not sign a new deal – rather than risk losing him for free.
Mikel Arteta wants to keep the 31-year-old forward and Arsenal are now prepared to back their manager, with The Times reporting that the forward has been offered a new deal.
Aubameyang will earn around £300,000-per-week including bonus payments in his new deal, up from the £200,000-per-week salary he currently earns at the club.
Aubaneyang will receive a one-off payment of £300,000 because of a clause in his current contract needing him to score or assist at least 25 goals – a benchmark he reached on the final day of the campaign.
The new deal would make him the second-highest earner at the Emirates behind only Mesut Ozil, though Arsenal would want to offload the German midfielder this summer.
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Alongside the huge salary, Arteta hopes the club’s improving performances and FA Cup win is enough to convince Aubameyang that he can achieve everything he wants to at the north London club.
Speaking about the player after the win at Wembley, Arteta said: ‘We always had incredible strikers at this football club and Auba deserves to be named and compared with the big names.
‘By winning trophies he will be closer to that and the longer he stays there as well. Hopefully we can have him for more time.’
