Aubameyang is already an Arsenal player in his mind, according to claims from Sky Sports reporter Gianluca Di Marzio.

Di Marzio wrote on his website that the 28-year-old striker has already agreed personal terms with the Gunners.

The club will give him a contract to 2021 and an annual salary of €10m (£8.83m). That’s a weekly salary of around £170,000. Arsenal still need to agree a transfer fee with Dortmund, who want €60m (£53m).

The report claims Aubameyang’s relationship with the club broke down after they sold key players in 2016. Despite all the sales, the Germans didn’t let him leave then, or in 2017 when Dembele left for Barcelona.

Now he’s apparently told the club and the manager he wants to leave this January, and doesn’t see himself as a Dortmund player anymore as he’s already an Arsenal player ‘in his mind’.

A lot of this sounds like speculation and guesswork, but it’s possible Di Marzio has sources close to Aubameyang.

If the figures above are correct, the Gunners should jump at the chance to get a deal done. A £53m transfer fee and £170,000 should be easy for the club to afford.

Gabriel Paulista, Francis Coquelin, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wojciech Szczesny and Kieran Gibbs have all freed up the wage bill. Alexis Sanchez will probably do the same very shortly. All of those players brought in decent transfer fees as well.

Even if Arsenal weren’t earning any other revenue, they should be able to complete this deal on transfers alone. Plus, the player actually wants to come.

This should be a no-brainer for the Gunners.