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What's the rumour?
German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund have rejected a bid in excess of £50 million from Arsenal for striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but are open to negotiating a player + swap deal, with Olivier Giroud being touted to be the chosen one, according to the Sky Sports.
In case you didn't know...
The Gabon international has been looking to move away from Dortmund for quite some time now and he has been heavily linked with Arsenal since the beginning of this month.
The London based club's manager Arsene Wenger even confirmed Arsenal's interest in the former AC Milan player.
Prior to this, the Gunners swapped Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan with Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Heart of the matter
In four seasons at Borussia Dortmund, Aubameyang has made a total of 212 appearances, scoring 141 goals in the process. He has arguably been the best player for the German club since his arrival in 2013.
However, the player expressed his desire to leave the club some time ago with Real Madrid being his target destination. Recently, however, the player revealed that he no longer wanted to go to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Since then, Aubameyang has been linked with a number of other clubs from England and China. One such club is Arsenal, who have really stepped up their interest in the player this month.
Over the course of the month, the English media have reported about the talks between the two clubs and the player. Arsenal are reportedly even prepared to offer striker Oliver Giroud to Dortmund in a swap deal for their target, as per reports in the Daily Express.
Rumour rating/probability
7/10
Sky Sports is considered to be a very reliable source, but it does not mean that they are always right. There really could be some truth in this one but as long as no reliable Arsenal journalist or German media have reported the same, it cannot be completely believed.
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Author's take
Aubameyang to Arsenal really looks likely to happen and we could see the deal happening before the end of the month. The addition of the striker alongside Mkhitaryan would see the Gunners balance the loss of Alexis Sanchez.
However, this also means added pressure for Wenger as he will be now expected to lead the team to UEFA Europa League glory and earn a UEFA Champions League spot for next season.
