Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s old teammate Bakary Sako has tried to convince the striker to leave Arsenal for Saint-Etienne.

Speaking to the media in a press conference this week, Saint-Etienne winger Bakary Sako admitted he’s trying to convince Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to rejoin Saint-Etienne, but it’s not an easy task.

“I am trying to attract him,” Sako confirmed. “Wouldn’t you like to see Aubameyang back at St Étienne? We all feel the same. I am very serious when I tell him to come, even if it is in a joking tone.

“I don’t know if it is possible, but I hope he will respond favourably. It is difficult because he has been at Arsenal for a long time, it is not easy to leave London.”

Sako’s first spell with Saint-Etienne overlapped with Aubameyang’s, as he spent three years with the club between 2009 and 2012.

Aubameyang joined in 2011, and they spent a year and a half together before Sako’s move to Wolves.

This week, Sako completed his return to Saint-Etienne, signing a deal to the end of the season. He says he’s arrived with a mission to save the club.

At the midpoint of the season, Saint-Etienne are 20th in Ligue 1 and five points below safety. They could certainly do with the help.

But that’s why it seems so unlikely Aubameyang would make that move at this stage. He’s not going to want a permanent move to a club dropping into the French second tier.

Even a loan seems unlikely given the finances Saint-Etienne would have to commit to secure it.

You never know, though. It seemed unlikely Hector Bellerin would end up at his boyhood club of Real Betis this summer, until it happened.