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Aubameyang to undergo Arsenal medical after Chelsea agree £18m deal to sign Giroud

By on January 30, 2018

olivier-giroud-arsenal-2017

According to the Telegraph, Arsenal have agreed an £18m deal with Chelsea over the sale of Olivier Giroud which will allow us to complete the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

As you’ll all be aware, Arsenal have been negotiating a deal to sign Aubameyang all month and it looked like we had our man after Kicker reported that a £55m deal had been agreed with Dortmund.

The striker quickly agreed personal terms and he flew over to London this afternoon on a private jet before being spotted arriving at London Colney to finalise his move.

BBC journalist David Ornstein claims on Twitter that the Gabon international is ready to undergo his medical with Arsenal in London on Wednesday morning.

However, the deal is reliant on Dortmund finding a replacement and while they were keen on Olivier Giroud, he turned down the move after Chelsea showed late interest as he wants to remain in London.

What was initially a player-plus-cash swap deal evolved in to a complicated striker merry-go-round that unfortunately saw Chelsea have Arsenal over a barrel.

Dortmund have agreed a loan deal to sign Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi so the Blues have been able to drive a hard bargain over Giroud as they know this deal is pivotal for us to land Aubameyang.

If we didn’t sell Giroud to Chelsea, they wouldn’t allow Batshuayi to join Dortmund and our deal for Aubameyang could have collapsed.

Ornstein claims a £20m deal was agreed between Arsenal and Chelsea for Giroud only for the Blues to force the price down earlier today. He tweeted an update at around 4pm:

However, a hectic day of negotiations have reached a climax as the Telegraph are one of several outlets who’re reporting that we’ve now settled on an £18m deal for Giroud’s sale to Chelsea.

The good news is this will allow Batshuayi to complete his loan move to Dortmund and free Aubameyang to join Arsenal in a club record deal, however, I’m gutted we’re selling Giroud to Chelsea.

It’s bad enough that we’re strengthening ANOTHER direct rival but £18m in today’s market is shocking business by Arsenal. He may be 31 but he’s one of the best target-men in the game and a superb ‘plan B’ so he’s far more valuable than a mere £18m.

Anyway, let’s focus on the positives. Aubameyang should be an Arsenal player tomorrow!