Arteta hopes Cup run seals Auba stay

LONDON • With one year left on his contract, the future of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be one of the biggest talking points when the English football transfer window opens next Monday.

At 31, the Gabon striker has one last big deal he can sign and he is said to be weighing up his options amid reported interest from Inter Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

For all his abilities, Aubameyang has had little silverware to show for it, winning a French League Cup and a German Cup with St Etienne and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

But after Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday, manager Mikel Arteta is hopeful the upset will convince the player to commit his future to the London club.

Aubameyang scored either side of the break to make it 25 goals in all competitions this term as the Gunners booked a record 21st appearance in the FA Cup final, scheduled for Aug 1.

"Good and beautiful moments, they are always better than the bad ones," Arteta, who was appointed in December and is aiming for his maiden trophy, told reporters.

"As I told you, the way I look at him when I speak with him, he sounds pretty convinced.

"But obviously, if he can see that success and the direction we are taking is the right one, he will be more positive about it, yes.

"Hopefully, it will help him to be more convinced we are going in the right direction."

The win against City came just three days after the Gunners beat English champions Liverpool 2-1, inflicting on the Reds just their third top-flight loss this term.

Most pundits did not give Arsenal a chance, pointing to a run of seven straight defeats in all competitions by City, with an aggregate of 20-2 prior to the Wembley showdown.

But despite giving up the majority of possession, with City enjoying 72 per cent of the ball, the record 13-time Cup winners were able to stand up to the pressure and effectively hit Pep Guardiola's men on the counter for both goals.

The opener was particularly eye-catching, with 18 passes made and 10 of their 11 players involved in the build-up, and Arteta feels his side are slowly, but surely improving.

"We are really happy with what has happened in the last four or five days," the Spaniard said. "To beat probably the best two teams in Europe is the nicest thing to do, so credit to the players for what they are doing, their performances and the level of fight they are showing."

Arsenal have had, by their usual standards, a poor season and realistically need to lift the Cup if they are to avoid missing out on European football for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

This will be their third Cup final in as many years, and having failed previously - they lost in the 2018 League Cup final and last year's Europa League final - David Luiz feels his teammates can finally get over the line this time round.

The Brazilian defender, who redeemed himself after a string of high-profile errors this term, said: "We have a final to play this season, and we will try and win a title for this club because this club deserves to win a trophy."

Guardiola, though, was unhappy as his side could not make their superiority count despite having 13 attempts on goal.

Reflecting on their failure to retain the Cup and record successive trebles, the City boss said: "We started slow and without the way you have to play.

"We are always ready many times but today, we were not. They defended well. It happened (when Arsenal played) against Liverpool too, so we knew it. But we were not good."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS