"I want to tell you something behind the scenes" - Fabrizio Romano reveals Arsenal had Aubameyang swap deal rejected by Juventus before striker's Barcelona move

Renowned football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Arsenal originally wanted to do a swap deal with Juventus involving one of Arthur or Alvaro Morata, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Italian outfit reportedly turned down their offer, which eventually led to the Gabonese striker’s transfer to Barcelona on Deadline Day in January.

The Gunners let Aubameyang join Barcelona for free on the final day of the winter transfer window. Manager Mikel Arteta did not have him in his plans for the remainder of the season and decided to transfer-list him. Unfortunately for the London outfit, no team was interested in paying the hefty sum needed to take the 32-year-old off their hands.

La Liga giants Barcelona were reportedly keeping a close eye on the developing situation, and Aubameyang saw it as his best shot at joining them. He left for Catalonia even before a deal was finalized and practically forced Arsenal’s hand. Despite the forward having 18 months left on his contract, Arteta decided to terminate his contract, freeing him to join the Blaugrana.

Romano, who kept everyone updated with the details of the transfer, has claimed that the north Londoners were originally interested in a swap deal. They wanted Juventus’ Arthur or Morata to move to the Emirates Stadium, with Aubameyang going the other way. The Bianconeri didn’t accept the offer for Arthur, while Morata’s move was rejected by his parent club Atletico Madrid.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed what went down in the final week of January.

He said:

“In the final week of the transfer window, Arsenal were trying to push Aubameyang to Juventus before they signed Dusan Vlahovic.”

“(Arsenal wanted) to do a swap deal – Aubameyang to Juventus and Arthur or Alvaro Morata to Arsenal. They were interested in a potential swap deal with Morata as a new striker or Arthur as a new midfielder.”

“Both on loan, so no permanent deal. Aubameyang to Juventus and Morata or Arthur – not both of them, only one – to Arsenal. The answer was no. Why? Because Juventus decided to sign Vlahovic, but also because Barcelona also were trying for Morata and they received the same answer that Arsenal received for the Spanish striker.”

“No from Atletico Madrid. Juventus were ready to open negotiations for Morata but (his parent club) said no because they didn’t want to accept any loan move again for (him).”

With Aubameyang’s transfer, Arteta is now left with only two first-team strikers, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah. Coincidentally both strikers are out of contract next summer, meaning the London club are desperate to sign a permanent option before the 2022-23 campaign.

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Former Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang makes his Barcelona debut

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played his first match for Barcelona on Sunday afternoon. The Gabon international was not fit enough to start the match against Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou but made an appearance off the bench.

Introduced in the 61st minute, Aubameyang could not get on the scoresheet but worked as hard as possible for his new employers. Despite being a man down for the last 20 minutes, the Blaugrana held on to their advantage and bagged a 4-2 win.

The 32-year-old’s full debut could come next week in the Catalan derby at Espanyol.