Craig Burley has urged Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to join a club challenging for major trophies over Chelsea, who are going through a rebuilding process.
Aubameyang is currently in his third season with the Gunners and he has been their leading performer with a tally of 20 goals and one assist across all competitions.
His present contract with the club expires in June 2021 and so far, there has been no indication to suggest that the Gabon international will prolong his stay at the Emirates Stadium.
Amidst this, Frank Lampard’s side have been credited with an interest in signing him but Burley believes the 30-year-old should avoid them and join a side competing for domestic and Champions League titles.
“The decision he’s got to make is what do I have in terms of options, Chelsea are a project at the moment, if he believes they are a project far enough down the line that are going to compete when everything gets up and running again, then fine,” he told in the ESPN FC show.
“At his age, he’s really going to be looking to get into somewhere where they’re going to be fighting for the title now, they’re going to be fighting for the Champions League now.
“That’s where he is in his career, he’s good enough to be doing that, he’s shown that at Dortmund, he’s shown that at Arsenal, an inferior team, so he needs to make sure he is making the right decision.”
Over the course of the current campaign, Aubameyang has repeatedly shown his commitment towards the Gunners and he recently said that he is ‘really happy‘ to play for the club.
Still, the north London side are no longer assured of Champions League football on a seasonal basis and missing out on the competition for a fourth campaign running may urge Aubameyang to move on.
Should his contract standoff continue, the Gunners may want to sanction his departure to an overseas club rather than strengthening a direct league rival ahead of the 2020/21 season.
Inter Milan are currently understood to be leading the race to sign the former Borussia Dortmund star, who is the Gunners’ second most-expensive signing after Nicolas Pepe.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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