Aubameyang likely to Leave Arsenal as miserable 2022 continues

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have endured a torrid start to the new year. The Gunners have been dumped from two cup competitions over the course of a five-game winless streak in January which saw the side score just one goal. Any hopes of claiming silverware this season now lie dead, and failures in the transfer market have compounded the troubles as the squad grows more and more depleted.

Arsenal’s Aubameyang Barcelona Bound

As January draws to a merciful close, the Gunners look set to jettison striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang off to Barcelona. According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Gabon international will join the Spanish side on loan for the rest of the season.

Aubameyang, in addition to struggling on the pitch this season, was caught in the midst of controversy last month when he was stripped of the captain’s armband following a late return to London from France. He has not been included in a match day squad since December 11th.

While he has scored just four times this term, there can be no denying the profound impact Aubameyang has had on the Arsenal offense since arriving from Borussia Dortmund. He joined the Gunners in January 2018 and hit the ground running with a goal on his debut. He would finish that campaign with 10 Premier League goals, and went on to become the fastest Arsenal player to reach 50 league goals.

Aubameyang has racked up 92 goals in 163 appearances for Arsenal but with 18 months remaining on his contract, he may well have played his last game for the side. If, as looks likely, no replacement is brought in, Arteta will finish the season with only Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah to call on in attack.

Transfer Market Frustration

Their once-star forward’s departure is just the latest in a string of setbacks for Arsenal in the January transfer window. Supporters had gotten their collective hopes up that the club would land Fiorentina striker Dušan Vlahović, before crashing back down to Earth as the Serbian shunned them for Juventus.

The Gunners have also seen a mooted deal for Juventus’ Arthur Melo collapse when it was thought a deal was close. Defender Calum Chambers has departed to join Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa, leaving the squad dangerously thin at the back.

Ben White, Rob Holding and Gabriel are the only senior centre backs on the books as things stand, though new signing Takehiro Tomiyasu, the Gunners’ starting right back, spent much of his time at his previous two clubs in the middle of defence. Despite that, centre back was a problem position even before the summer saw David Luiz return to Brazil and William Saliba join Marseille on loan, where he has been among the league’s standout defenders.

With such glaring holes in the squad in crucial positions, supporters can rightfully feel aggrieved that the club has fumbled this opportunity to add reinforcements. As incomings begin looking less and less likely, the transfer window cannot close soon enough from the Gunners’ perspective.

It has been a disastrous month for technical director Edu and Arteta, who will be eager to get things back on track after some warm-weather training in Dubai as Arsenal resume Premier League action against Wolves on February 10th.