Wenger has given his reasons for signing the striker from Borussia Dortmund for £56m
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for £56m Getty
Arsene Wenger appears to have given his reasons behind the £60m move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Arsenal poised to break their transfer record for the second time this season.
The Gunners are waiting on Dortmund to give them the green light to announce the club-record £60m deal, which will see Wenger set a new highest transfer fee for the second time in six months after the £52m acquisition of Alexandre Lacazette last summer.
The move hinges on much more than money and medicals though, with both Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi integral to the switch with their moves to Chelsea and Dortmund respectively.
But Wenger has been caught up in what looks to be a particularly embarrassing incident late on Tuesday night after the club posted his reaction video to their Arsenal Player – only for it to be the wrong clip.
Under a headline ‘They were hungrier and we were absolutely guilty’, Wenger was pictured against the sponsored backdrop at the Liberty Stadium immediately after the 3-1 defeat that leaves Arsenal eight points off the top four and 23 points behind leaders Manchester City. But the video was evidently not what it was supposed to be, as rather than offer his thoughts on the game, Wenger instead was asked what he thought about their latest signing – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But while there was plenty of furore surrounding the premature announcement, Wenger did also reveal the attributes that Aubameyang has that persuaded Arsenal to move for the Gabon international.
“We need people who can give us more offensive power,” Wenger said, having sold Alexis Sanchez last week to Manchester United in a swap deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
“At the moment we aren't efficient enough going forward, and hopefully I'm convinced he will bring us that. He has a big challenge in front of him, he wants to win the Premier League.
“Overall, I believe he is welcome and that is absolutely good news for us.”
Wenger added: “I would say overall his pace, his finishing, the quality of his runs, the quality of his reception, including cross and overall his huge physical capacity to repeat runs. Of course that will be important in the Premier League because the physical challenge is very high.”
