What does the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang transfer to Arsenal mean for Real Madrid?
By Ben Sundock
Deadline day is here and with it comes big last-minute moves from some of the biggest clubs around Europe. It was announced early Wednesday that Arsenal had reached an agreement to sign striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund. What does this mean for Real Madrid going forward?
I feel like I have repeated myself so many times the last two months when discussing Real Madrid and their poor decision making it shouldn’t come as a surprise when I say that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moving to Arsenal is a bad, bad thing for Madrid.
Not only does it show the Real Madrid board that other teams around Europe are willing to splash the cash to upgrade their teams, it also sums up the club’s recently inability to make ‘Galactico’ like moves in the transfer market.
A week ago, I went on a rant about how Real Madrid’s Copa Del Rey quarterfinal defeat to Leganes sums up the falling from grace we’ve seen the last five months. Now, I am back to rant about how Aubameyang’s move to Arsenal is another bad thing for the club.
What I want to know is how President Florentino Perez and the club could let a striker like this go to England without even making a bid. Real was set to “hijack” Arsenal’s move, yet, nothing happened. This was reported two weeks ago and in that time, The Gunners had plenty of time to talk with Dortmund and reach an agreement to sign Auba.
What’s more concerning is that if Real Madrid had just made a quality offer to Dortmund for Pierre-Emerick, they likely would have been able to sign him. After all, the stories and talk of Aubameyang one day playing for Real Madrid makes it seem to me like it was legitimate.
Rumors circulated that the Gabonese international promised his late grandfather that he would one day play for the Royal Whites. However, in late Septemeber, PEA recanted that story and said he no longer wanted to make a move to Spain.
So @Aubameyang7's a Gunner - and here's how he feels 🔴
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 31, 2018
Let us know how you reacted to the signing by replying to this with GIFs, memes, pics - use #YoPierre pic.twitter.com/P9RUPnUC0p
Arsenal certainly had to shell out the cash to acquire the talented 28-year-old, but based off his numbers this season in Germany, it is a worthwhile move. Auba scored 13 goals in 16 league starts while also scoring four goals in six Champions League group stage starts.
€65 million is a giant fee and looking at it from both a business and personnel perspective, Borussia Dortmund made a smart move.
They bought Pierre-Emerick from Saint-Étienne in the summer of 2013 for €15 million and sold him nearly five years later for a profit of about €40 million.
As for Real Madrid, the constant reminder that there are good strikers such as Aubameyang, Oliver Giroud moving to Chelsea, and Michy Batshuayi going on loan to Dortmund moving around on deadline day is frustrating.
The talent is out there and Real has the funds and reputation to sign whoever they want. For some reason, the club has been hung up on the thought of signing Eden Hazard when it seems pretty clear the talented forward is wanting to wait until after the World Cup this summer to decide on his future.
Next: Real Madrid training update: Ramos, Isco, and Varane back with the team Wednesday
I would have loved to see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang play for Real Madrid but that dream is now gone.
Sadly, we Real Madrid fans will have to wait until the summer to see any transfers as the team has closed up shop for the winter window.