Six points outside the top four, fans turning on players and a manager looking lost and under pressure, Arsenal are not in a good place right now.
The Gunners are holding onto a place in the top six by their fingernails, and there is very little that seems to be going right.
Amid all the negativity, the one positive thing at the club at this moment in time is the form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gabon striker has picked up where he left off last season, with eight goals in 11 games making him the fourth-highest goalscorer in the division and solidifying his status as one of the best strikers around.
That form has seemingly not gone unnoticed in Spain, with El Desmarque reporting that Real Madrid are now showing interest in the Arsenal star.
Madrid have been struggling for goals this season, and that’s something Florentino Pérez is looking to rectify sooner rather than later.
He wants more ‘dynamite’ in the team and the name ‘marked in red’ is that of Aubameyang, according to the website.
His future at Arsenal is in doubt given their poor performances this season, and another disappointing campaign would be ‘the endpoint’ for the striker with the club.
He has an agreement with Arsenal that if he wants to leave that they will ‘study’ any offers that come in, with the Gunners demanding €80m in that scenario.
Madrid would seemingly be reluctant to pay that as they’re instead eyeing up the possibility of using James Rodríguez to bring the price down.
The Colombian is a player that Unai Emery ‘loves’ and Arsenal ‘would look forward’ to him joining the club after already trying to sign him this summer.
El Desmarque don’t give a price tag for Rodríguez, although they earlier valued him at €65m, so that would presumably be their valuation in any move involving Aubameyang.
In truth, the whole deal is a little complicated and sounds far fetched, but given Aubameyang’s open desire to join Madrid in the past, Arsenal’s links to Rodríguez and the situation of both players at their current clubs, its one to keep an eye on.
