Aubameyang convinces Arsenal to launch Barcelona raid, €60m bid could be way short

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It’s fair to say that Ousmane Dembele has endured a difficult debut campaign with Barcelona, but Arsenal could reportedly now emerge as an escape route.

The 20-year-old joined the Catalan giants in a big-money move last summer from Borussia Dortmund, with BBC Sport noting that it could cost them £135.5m in total.

However, Dembele hasn’t been able to provide an immediate return on that investment, as the French international has been limited to just nine appearances so far this season due to injury problems.

It will be difficult enough for him at the Nou Camp given the level of competition with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho all vying for spaces, and so it has led to ongoing speculation over his future.

According to Don Balon, as re-reported by The Express, Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has convinced Arsene Wenger and the Gunners to move for the Frenchman and restore his confidence having been one of the top prospects in Europe not so long ago.

It’s worth remembering that in his only season in Germany, he scored 10 goals and had 21 assists in 49 appearances, and Aubameyang will know well what he can offer having been teammates.

There is an obvious problem though. The report adds Arsenal would only be willing to offer €60m for Dembele, and considering the fee mentioned above that it took Barcelona to sign him in the first place, that seems well below what they would demand to at least recoup what they spent.

On top of that, having signed Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the January transfer window, how will Wenger fit all of these attacking players into his line-up with Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette also to consider?

Given that they’ve got the worst defensive record of the top seven sides in the Premier League having conceded 36 goals in 27 games, Arsenal would be well-advised to look at their backline instead while Barcelona surely need to show a little more patience with Dembele to see if he can come good when he’s fully fit and able to perform at peak condition.

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