The President of Gabonese Football Association Pierre Alain Mounguengui has advised his countryman and the talisman of Premier League side Arsenal Football Club Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave the club to a more ambitious club.
His advice is coming when the contract of the Arsenal captain has one more season to expire. It is also coming when the future of Aubameyang in Arsenal is so uncertain as some of the biggest clubs in Europe are queueing up for his signature.
Since Aubameyang joined Arsenal in 2018 from German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £56 million, he has remained one of the phenomenon stars in the Emirate stadium.
After spending a season and few months, his performance on and off the field impressed the coaching crew and players of the team to the extent that he was voted the captain of the squad.
In less than three seasons at the club, he has scored over 49 goals in 75 appearances. In fact, in his first full season in the Premier League, he won the Premier League Golden Boot alongside Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.
Before the 2019-2020 football season was interrupted by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Aubameyang has already scored 20 goals in all competitions.
Aubameyang too good for Arsenal?
Despite all these incredible stats, the Gabonese national team captain has nothing to show for it, not even an English FA Cup. With his brilliance, the 30-year-old Arsenal star is still struggling to survive in the Europa League and his club is still struggling to make the top four in the Premier League.
It is left to see whether he will sacrifice the honour of winning titles and playing in the UEFA Champions League on the altar of being loyal to the red and white jersey of the Gunners.
While Aubameyang is yet to make up his mind, his country FA President told ESPN that Gabonese believe that the Arsenal man is one of best footballers in the world who should be playing in a more ambitious club.
He said: “I don’t want to say that Arsenal isn’t ambitious, but Arsenal don’t have ambitions as high as some other clubs as far as Europe is concerned.
“So if Pierre could secure a contract with a more ambitious club, he would definitely find his place there.
“On an individual level, we all consider him to be among the best players in the world, but the advice I give to him is to continue to work and to attract the attention of the biggest clubs and the most ambitious clubs.
“Aubameyang is a world-class player. “But for him, or anyone else in Europe who hasn’t won a major honour, football is a collective sport.
“Right now, he’s at Arsenal, and he’s won nothing here, so it’s a collective failing.”
