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Borussia Dortmund confirm Arsenal bid
The Bundesliga side have revealed that the Gunners have lodged their first bid for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told news outlet Ruhr Nachrichte:
"I can confirm that there has been a first request from Arsenal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and we are not commenting on the sums that have been called from England since noon today."
German outlet, Kicker, understands the bid to be around €50 million and also states that the London club need to bid around €60 million for Dortmund to sanction a deal. Meanwhile, Aubameyang was left out of the squad that played Hertha Berlin on Friday. However, head coach, Peter Stoger, insisted that the marksman can still get back into the team and said:
"If he can help the team, he can make himself available again. If he steps up he will be back again next week."
Thus, the saga rumbles on but Watzke's statement confirms that Arsenal are trying to bring the Gabon international to the Emirates to form a brilliant partnership with Alexandre Lacazette.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan key to Alexis Sanchez deal
The Chilean was left out of the Arsenal squad that beat Crystal Palace 4-1 in the Premier League while Mkhitaryan was absent from the Manchester United squad that won at Burnley. As rumours circulate regarding a swap deal, Arsene Wenger himself explained the current situation in the post-match press conference and said:
"I didn't take him (Sanchez) because there is a question of him moving to Manchester United and you cannot drive up north and as well play football. I expect it to happen maybe but I cannot announce it because in the next 48 hours it will be decided one way or the other.That's difficult so that's why I decided to leave him out."
"In these kind of things, as long as it's not over the line you cannot say it will happen because the negotiations become more and more longer and edgy because every detail becomes important nowadays. If you want to have a bet, it could happen."
Wenger further confirmed that Mkhitaryan was key to the deal when he said:
"It happens only one way, if the other way happens as well, that's why it takes longer as well because it has to be coordinated."
Meanwhile, United boss, Jose Mourinho addressed the situation as well and said:
"I expect soon or never. I think it's so close, so close that if it doesn't happen it's not going to happen, so I am positive. I know that my people are doing everything, absolutely everything they can, the owners with the green light, [executive vice-chairman] Mr [Ed] Woodward's working hard. I think everybody is giving everything they can and I think they are going to be successful."
Thus, both deals can be expected to be announced around the same time if the transfers do happen and Arsenal definitely stand to get a quality player in return.
Tottenham to beat Arsenal to Malcom?
The Brazilian is a player of interest to Arsenal with talks having cooled down in recent days, as told by Wenger himself. However, the Bordeaux man is not letting it rest and spoke about a possible move to the Premier League after his team's victory over Nantes in the Ligue 1 and said:
"I don't know if I'll stay. I don't know if I'm going to leave. I leave that to my agents, to the club. If I go, that's good. I'd be grateful to Bordeaux forever. That's life, these are the choices. We'll see. If I have to stay, I'll stay. If I have to leave, I'll leave. As long as I'm here, I'll do my job."
When specifically asked about moving to England, he added:
"Yes, it's a dream. It's a dream for all players and for me it's no different. But as long as I'm here, I have to do my job well."
Now, if Arsenal are not interested in the 20-year old, then Tottenham are the likely suitors with ESPN stating the interest from Mauricio Pochettino's side. If Malcom is set to move, then Wenger can likely be forced to take a call and go back in for the player in such a situation.
