"I don't want to say that Arsenal aren't ambitious, but Arsenal don't have ambitions as high as some other clubs as far as Europe is concerned"
Sunday 12 April 2020 07:03, UK
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been advised to leave Arsenal by the Gabon FA president.
The Gabon striker will be out of contract at the end of the 2020/21 season and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is keen for the Gunners captain to sign fresh terms with the club, rather than risk losing him on a free as they did with Aaron Ramsey last season.
Gabon FA president Pierre Alain Mounguengui has urged him to leave the Emirates for a club playing in the Champions League.
"I don't want to say that Arsenal aren't ambitious, but Arsenal don't have ambitions as high as some other clubs as far as Europe is concerned," Mounguengui told ESPN.
"So if Pierre could secure a contract with a more ambitious club, he would definitely find his place there.
"On an individual level, we all consider him to be among the best players in the world, but the advice I give to him is to continue to work and to attract the attention of the biggest clubs and the most ambitious clubs."
"Aubameyang is a world-class player," he added. "But for him, or anyone else in Europe who hasn't won a major honour, football is a collective sport.
"Right now, he's at Arsenal, and he's won nothing here, so it's a collective failing."
Arteta has revealed he is planning "two or three different scenarios" when it comes to Arsenal's summer transfer window.
Arsenal currently have Dani Ceballos and Cedric Soares on loan while they also have the option to buy defender Pablo Mari. Arteta claimed last month that the Gunners need to sit down with captain Aubameyang before the end of the season and thrash out a new deal.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, the Arsenal boss said: "I'm planning two or three different scenarios that we can face. Depending on one of those three, we will be able to do more, less or nothing.
"We have to react daily. We don't know what the financial situation is going to be, we don't know the rules, the timing, the window. There are so many things we cannot control at the moment."
