“I am confident he will extend his stay”: Mikel Arteta indicates that star will sign a new deal soon

It would be understandable if Arsenal fans were worried about losing Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang for a low fee, while his contract situation has rumbled on for a while.

You often expect a player to start taking it easy if they expect a summer transfer, but Arsenal fans have learned a lot about their star striker in recent games.

Admittedly you probably don’t want to rely on him at defensive set-pieces, but he’s shown he has the pace and quality to win games on the big stage against better teams.

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There might be concerns that he’s the wrong side of 30 and his game is based on pace, but it still looks like he’s the player that Arteta should build his team around.

That would only make sense if he was fully committed to the club, and this report from The Independent brings some very promising news.

They look at some comment she made to Sky Sports, and this sounds like a new deal could be near:

“I like the way the conversations are going, I like what I’m hearing. I’m sure for both parties, the quicker we can do it, the better for everyone.”

“I am confident he will extend his stay.”

Of course it’s important not to get too carried away until things are signed and confirmed, but this is great news for the fans.