Thing are much better for the Gunners lately – the opening of the season was abysmal and the current fourth spot (leading directly to the Champions League) is something Gunners are much more familiar with. However, off the pitch and inside the club dressing rooms and offices – it is the other way around.Last two weeks or so, the whole captaincy saga with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brought sour memories to all who love the red and white in north London – the situation with the Gabonese striker looks a lot like what everyone there went through when Mesut Ozil was extending his stay and eventually left the club.##EDITORS_CHOICE##There seem to be an issue with how the management of Arsenal treats and works with players whose contracts are nearing their end. Uncertainty continues to surround the likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah over whether they will extend their Emirates stays and, as it stands, the Gunners look set to worryingly lose the pair on free transfers when their deals are up next summer.There are numerous examples of a similar scenario in the past – Alexis Sanchez was offloaded to Manchester United in a last-resort swap with Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January of 2018, thus losing a superstar for ‘free’. Further back in the past, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie showed evident reluctance over new deals which eventually saw both of them part for clubs either side of the Manchester rivalry.Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil are probably the most recent examples having both been embroiled in contract disputes before eventually leaving for nothing.Tuchel: ‘I feel sorry for Aubemayang’Aubameyang is now only adding fuel to this theory as his struggles highlight the all-too familiar dilemma the Gunners find themselves in.His lengthy negotiations with the club were finalized with a contract extension last year and the contract was massive. The Gabonese forward got his way after Arsenal agreed to shell out a staggering sum of 330,000-USD-a-week for his services as a three-year deal was signed in September 2020.EFL CUP: Tue, 22.45: (1.20) ARSENAL (6.75) SUNDERLAND (14.0)But if you take a look at how thing are going for the African, you can help but wonder – are we seeing a deja vu?As Ozil himself proved, giving in to a player’s demands and dishing out a mega-money new deal doesn’t appear to be the answer either.After months of speculation, the German midfielder was eventually rewarded with an eye-popping 460,000-USD-a-week deal. However, his form significantly dropped after the extension signing, and after even more drama, club and player agreed to cut ties and terminate the agony.This is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – not the Arsenal captainArsenal’s contract curse is very much a thing. It happened with Ozil and now it’s happening with Aubameyang. In the period surrounding the contract-extension drama, Auba performed splendidly. He became the first African to win the FA Cup as captain earlier that year, he scored against Manchester City and Chelsea in the semi-finals and final respectively, and no wonder Arsenal made the effort to secure his stay and try to beat their contract problems from the past.But the problem did not disappear. After committing his near future to the Gunners, the 32-year-old forward hasn’t been the same.What happened to Ozil if what is about to happen to Aubameyang. This is the only problem with Arsenal. Good players are slowly being banished😔 pic.twitter.com/1gX3lPjPjX— Justme (@realcurtis_) December 14, 2021 Last year’s disappointing Premier League campaign saw him score only 10 goals in 29 matches and the bad streak keeps on going this year. To compare, prior to claiming his improved, mammoth contract he was the player who netted 22 times on the way to becoming the joint-winner of the league’s Golden Boot.Nowadays, his form can be summed up in that miss against Newcastle end of November. Enough said.Someone put a spell on the Emirates and their policy on players that could leave for free.Aubameyang Miss vs Newcastle pic.twitter.com/MjB06x6jNN— Sharky HD YT (@SharkyHD_ytt) November 27, 2021
