Former Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere has slammed the club's transfer policy and believes that they have left themselves with no choice but to sell captain and star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for a cut-price fee this summer.
Aubameyang's long-term future remains up in the air as he approaches the final year of his contract at the club, with talks over an extension having reached an impasse over wage demands.
The Gunners could therefore find themselves needing to cash in on him this year rather than risk losing him for free in 2021, which was the case with Aaron Ramsey last summer.
"They've got to sell him, 100%. Arsenal can't keep losing players on a free. To be honest, I still can't believe we've again got a top player, our captain, going into the summer only having one year left on his contract," Aliadiere told Goal.
"For me, it has to be sorted when he gets to two years. Last summer he should have signed a deal or been sold. Because when you get down to one year left, in a player's mind there is a difference. If I was Aubameyang and I knew I only had one year left, I would sacrifice one year of my career to go on a free and get paid a ridiculous amount of money and have all the clubs in the world chasing me. Who wouldn't?
"That's why I just think it's wrong management yet again. It should be sorted at two years. You should not let a player end up with a year left on his contract, especially a player like Aubameyang. It's not right. I just think players are playing on it, they keep letting negotiations drag on and the next thing you know, he's just got one year left.
"And now, how much are we going to sell him for with one year left? Arsenal are in the worst position you can imagine again because you've got a top quality player who assures you of 20-25 Premier League goals a season who is one year away from leaving on a free.
"Or, he gets sold to Barcelona or Real Madrid and for what? How much can you expect for him now? Nothing compared to what if you'd sold him last summer. They could have asked for £100m."
Aubameyang has scored 20 goals in 32 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions this season - twice as many as the next highest-scorer.
Barney Corkhill
