Charlie Nicholas believes it wouldn’t make sense for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave Arsenal for Manchester United as they are ‘miles away’ from Manchester City and Liverpool.
The 31-year-old will have 12 months remaining on his contract at the Emirates in June and with no signs of an extension yet, the Gunners may look to cash in rather than risk losing him on a free next summer.
Manchester United have recently been linked with a £50million move for the Arsenal captain but will reportedly face competition from La Liga duo Barcelona and Real Madrid.
And former Gunner Nicholas admitted United aren’t the same side they were when they snatched Robin van Persie away from Arsenal in 2012 and that Aubameyang shouldn’t make the same mistake Alexis Sanchez did:
“If Aubameyang wants to leave, you ideally want him out of the Premier League.
“However, he is of a mind and age that I can see the dangers and understand comparisons with Van Persie.
“However, I think he will be thinking about what happened to Alexis Sanchez rather than Van Persie. Would he want to be a part of a superstar reload at Manchester United? Is there a great appeal to that? If it was Liverpool or Man City I would get it, but Manchester United are miles away from the top two.
“Would he win the title with United in the next few years? I don’t think so. He might not even be in the Champions League if he was to join so what is the real appeal? Is it salary? I don’t think he is that type.
“Van Persie jumped to a massive salary, but Manchester United are not the same calibre as what they were then. Would he be the cutting edge for them? Maybe. But, like Arsenal, I think they have other issues to address.”
Aubameyang has been one of Arsenal better performers this season and has netted 17 Premier League goals so far this season.
But with his contract running down, Nicholas believes the Gunners should let him go for the right price rather lose him for nothing next summer:
“If Arsenal were to get £100m for him to go there, I would take that. Arsenal were once the challengers to United for the title, but now neither of them are. If Man United offer £100m for Aubameyang, sell him.
‘My preference would be for Aubameyang to stay. The problem, however, is that as much as I would like to get my way, I have a feeling Arsenal will not keep him.’
