Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has reportedly demanded a new three-year deal worth £250,000-a-week to extend his stay at Arsenal.
According to ESPN Aubameyang, 31, is open to remaining at Arsenal with his current contract expiring in 2021.
However, the former Borussia Dortmund striker wants to be tied down to the North Londoners until 2023.
And he also wants his weekly £180k to be increased to £250k.
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Arsenal’s budget is tight, with permanents deals for Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari as well as an extension for David Luiz revealing Arteta’s need for numbers without delving into the transfer market.
And Arsenal’s priority is to keep Aubameyang past the end of the next season.
It means he is likely to get his salary upgrade, which would still leave him £100k shy of Mesut Ozil’s £350k weekly package.
Aubameyang proved his importance to Arsenal by becoming the fastest player to reach 50 goals for the club with a strike in the 4-0 win over Norwich City.
Manchester United were believed to be one of many interested teams, including Barcelona, Juventus and Inter Milan, tracking his situation.
But Arsenal have always had Aubameyang in their plans for the next few campaigns.
And boss Arteta recently urged Arsenal to do everything in their power to keep Aubameyang at the club this summer.
He said: “We cannot be a team that has to sell its best player to try to bring in and improve our squad, that’s for sure.
“Things change in football very quickly but when you ask me in that moment how I feel about Auba’s future, I feel he wants to continue with us and keep helping us become a better team.
“It’s the energy I sense. He needs to feel he belongs somewhere, that he believes we can achieve the goals he has, individually and collectively, for a long time.
“He’s very settled in the city, his family are really happy here and he’s loved, respected and admired by his teammates, which is a huge thing to have in any football club.
“That is what gives me positivity. I see the enjoyment that he’s having, the work-rate he’s putting in all the time and the decisions he makes.”
