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Arsenal convince Aubameyang to sign new contract as Arteta looks to transfer targets Gabriel and Partey

POOL/AFP via Getty Images
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Arsenal are close to agreeing a new contract with FA Cup hero Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after a breakthrough in talks with the forward.

Following months of negotiations, the 31-year-old is believed to have verbally agreed a new deal until 2023, thought to be worth more than £250,000 a week. Barring any late hitches, Aubameyang is now expected to commit his future to the club in a major boost to manager Mikel Arteta.

The club captain has scored 70 goals in 109 appearances since signing from Borussia Dortmund for £56million in January 2018 and he has proved indispensable for Arteta, most recently with a match-winning performance in last Saturday's FA Cup Final win over Chelsea.

Aubameyang is set to be joined in north London next season by Willian, with the Chelsea winger close to agreeing a three-year deal with Arsenal, believed to be worth in excess of £100,000 a week.

The Gunners are also eyeing Lille central defender Gabriel Magalhaes and want a central midfielder, with Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey among their targets.

A number of fringe players are expected to depart this summer, with AC Milan target Lucas Torreira and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who is wanted by Everton and Brighton, among them.

The timing of the likely agreements with Aubamayeng and Willian is deeply uncomfortable, however, coming just days after Arsenal announced plans to make 55 staff redundant. The news angered a number of first-team players, the vast majority of whom agreed pay cuts in April in the belief they were helping to save jobs.

Arsenal are also conducting a major overhaul of their recruitment department, led by technical director Edu, but the scouts being let go are not part of the proposed redundancies because they are contractors.

Head of international scouting Francis Cagigao, head of UK scouting Peter Clark and scout Brian McDermott are among those being released, along with a number of other senior figures in recruitment, including Ty Gooden, who had been overseeing France.

Edu wants the club to move to a more data and analytics-driven approach which has proved so successful for the likes of Liverpool and Man City, and away from the old fashioned system of having scouts specialising in different locations around the world.

Earlier this year, the Brazilian carried out an overhaul of the recruitment department at Arsenal’s Hale End academy following a review with academy manager Per Mertesacker, with a number of established figures, including head of youth scouting Steve Morrow, departing.

The changes also suggest a move to a more agent-led approach, with Willian's representative Kia Joorabchian increasingly influential at the club.

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