Mikel Arteta believes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will stay after firing Arsenal to the FA Cup final
Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal reaching the FA Cup final will help convince Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to stay and accelerate their progress under him.
Aubameyang scored twice as Arsenal downed Manchester City at Wembley and they face either Manchester United or Chelsea in the final on August 1.
The 31-year-old has yet to pen fresh terms at the Emirates Stadium and only has a season left on his current contract.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goals in either half swept Arsenal to this season’s FA Cup final
Arteta was a delighted manager and hopes that his star striker will now agree a fresh contract
‘The way he looks at it when I speak with him, he sounds pretty convinced,’ Arteta said. ‘If he can see the direction we are taking it is the right one, I think he’ll be more positive. Hopefully it will help him to be more convinced we are going in the right direction.’
Lifting the FA Cup would cement Arsenal’s place in next season’s Europa League and the manager is adamant that qualification is key for them to strengthen properly this summer.
Arteta has made noises about a lack of funds over the past few days, but Europe would swell the coffers and offer him more opportunities to make needed change.
‘If we win it will help financially and that will make us stronger,’ Arteta added. ‘We always agree with the plan we have in place, it’s about the possibilities we have and at the moment we are uncertain.
The coach admits he is operating in an uncertain climate but feels that his side are resurgent
‘The players are really proud, the way they are fighting for each other. I have a feeling I can play any of those players and they will perform. I’m really happy with the last four or five days. We’ve beaten probably the best two teams in Europe.’
Kieran Tierney, who excelled as a central defender, said: ‘Aubameyang has done it for so long, it’s an honour for me to play with him. We are building for something big (here).’
City manager Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, was left agitated with his squad after a lacklustre display. The Catalan was particularly annoyed at a first-half performance that saw City dominate possession but create few chances.
‘We were not good,’ Guardiola conceded. ‘These players have shown many things in the right moments and we weren’t there today.
‘We struggled in the first half. In the semi-final of the FA Cup. If we played the first half the way we approach, aggressive, it would have been better but we didn’t.
The win left Arteta purring but counterpart Pep Guardiola warned his players need to improve
‘I don’t have to tell them. They should feel it. They know it. They know the standards we need at these stages. Maybe we’re learning, maybe not.
‘Bournemouth was not good and today’s first half was not good. We’re struggling to play in our level. You don’t have to be a genius to realise that we need to raise our level against Madrid.’
Arteta reserved special praise for the maligned David Luiz, whose commanding night drew parallels to Per Mertesacker’s man-of-the-match performance in the 2017 FA Cup final. Luiz was lampooned for the kamikaze night at the Etihad Stadium last month.
‘I didn’t have any doubts about his reaction, he put his hand up after that game,’ Arteta said.
‘We all made mistakes but the way he’s been performing has been phenomenal, he deserves the praise he gets. What he needs is us to trust him and the best way to do that is make him play.’
