MIKEL ARTETA insists he has no intention of selling captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but confirmed he is in the market to sign another defender this month.
Aubaumeyang, 30, is in the final 18 months of his £200,000-a-week Emirates contract and has resisted all the club’s efforts to persuade him to sign a new deal.
Arteta has ruled out the possibility of selling Aubameyang this monthCredit: AFP
But new Gunners boss Arteta is refusing to contemplate the idea of cashing in on his £54million top-scorer during the January transfer window.
The Spaniard said: “I don’t even think of the possibility of Auba leaving us. I want him here.”
Arteta also confirmed that Calum Chambers has undergone surgery today after damaging an anterior cruciate ligament against Chelsea on Sunday.
“We’re still waiting to hear from the doctors but it’s a significant injury and it’s not looking good,” he said.
“It’s a bad injury and that has changed our plans at the back. So we’ll try to look in the transfer market for options to strengthen the team.
“That is our obligation and we are going to be working on that but the reality is that we’re not going to be able to do much.
“At the moment I’m more concerned with getting people back from and trying to improve the players we have here than I am with signings.
“But if something extra comes up and we think it’s the right opportunity, let’s do it.”
Arteta also confirmed that he has told Granit Xhaka that he will be staying at the club despite Hertha Berlin’s continuing pursuit of the Swiss midfielder.
He said: “I’ve had a conversation with him because I wanted to understand his feelings and why he was thinking this was not the right place to continue his career.
“I gave him my opinion and told him I was ready to support him from the club’s perspective.
“Then I wanted his team-mates to get his back and help him to change his mind because we need him.
“I believed that if we were able to do that, the fans would respond in a positive way.
“Because I have seen how he acts every day in training, the quality and the professionalism of the player. He could be a really important player for the club.
“From my perspective I don’t want him to leave. I said to the the club no and I said to him no.
“After that, in life I cannot control what will happen.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
