LONDON: Mikel Arteta hopes Arsenal’s run to the FA Cup final can persuade Wembley hero Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to stay at the club.
Aubameyang underlined his value to Arsenal with a brace in their shock 2-0 win over FA Cup holders Manchester City in the semi-final on Saturday.
“I think it will help everybody. These beautiful moments are always better than the bad ones and when I look at him and speak to him he sounds pretty convinced, but obviously if he can see the success and direction that we’re taking is the right one, I think he will be more positive about it, yes,” Arteta told Arsenal website.
Asked about Aubameyang’s tweet on scoring against big teams, Arsenal manager said: “Yeah, but it’s like it with David [Luiz]. Big players [get criticised] more than any others and even when they do well, people are going to criticise you, but he showed today on the pitch. Not from talking, but on the pitch.
On whether he would rather face Manchester United or Chelsea, he said, “I’m going to watch the game tomorrow and use that game to get something out of it. I don’t know, it’s not our decision. We’ve done what we had to do today and now we need to prepare for the final against one of those opponents.”
