Could Emery be forced to sell Auba or Laca?

Considering Arsenal’s financial situation, it won’t surprise me if either of Aubameyang and Lacezette is sold in the summer and a cheaper striker is brought in as a replacement. Already there has been rumours in the British press stating Arsenal have resolved to sell Lacazette in the summer. And to further buttress the rumours, there is a report in the media today claiming Arsenal are interested in signing Eintracht Frankfurt forward Luka Jovic.

Should Arsenal miss out on a top four finish and not be playing Champions league football next season, knowing how Kroenke has treated this club, I won’t be surprised if we have to sell some of our big names in order to bring in the players the manager wants. Already the odds are already against Arsenal finishing in the top four. And the bookmakers do not fancy us to win the Europa league as well. Most bookmakers have us as four favourites behind Napoli, Chelsea and Sevilla. However, when it comes to sports betting online, trust in the experts can sometimes be misleading. Not a single pundit predicted Leicester City winning the league when they did.

Regardless, Jovic will be an exciting and interesting signing. The Serbian who still only 21 is doing incredibly well in the Bundesliga so far this season. The highly prolific striker already scored 30 goals in 59 games for Frankfurt since joining them from Benfica on a two year loan deal. According to reports, Frankfurt intends to make the deal permanent in the summer since they have the option to do so. But that doesn’t stop Arsenal or any other club signing him, only difference is Frankfurt will be making a lot of money almost immediately after making the loan deal permanent.

As of the time of writing this article, Jovic already scored 21 goals in 32 games for Frankfurt in the ongoing 2018-2019 season. Problem for Arsenal would be the fact that Barca, Chelsea and Real Madrid have all been linked with the signing of the highly rated 21-year old. And what makes it even sadder is the fact that all the aforementioned clubs could do with a striker and their links to Jovic is certainly not a surprise – at least not for me.

Should Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barca be truly interested in signing the player, Arsenal stand little chance. First the other three clubs are rich clubs who are never afraid to spend on both transfer fees and wages which is something Arsenal can’t boast of at the moment. Secondly, it is highly very unlikely that a player will reject Real Madrid and Barca to join Arsenal.

However, considering Jovic is still only 21, he could well see Arsenal as a stepping stone to something bigger. But again, there is the Chelsea option. Personally I believe Chelsea may well turn out to be Arsenal’s obstacle in the bid to sign the Serbian. Real Madrid are likely to go big for Mbappe and Neymar/Hazard Barca may also want to go for an established striker while Chelsea who appear prudent in the transfer market in the last three windows may take a punt on a youngster like Jovic especially as he is unlikely to cost too much money.