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Report: Arsenal CEO Heads to Dortmund to Wrap Up Aubameyang Deal

Arsenal appears to be closing in on a deal for Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
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Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has reportedly traveled to Germany as the Gunners attempt to strike a January deal with Borussia Dortmund over unsettled striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Arsenal are already believed to have established strong and positive contact with the player, but negotiations with Dortmund over the formal transfer fee continue, with one recent report suggesting only a package worth at least €70m will do.

The Daily Express now quotes a similar price of £55m and has claimed that Gazidis has been seen in Dortmund as he attempts to push the proposed deal towards completion.

Arsenal are set to soon confirm the arrival of Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Manchester United as part of the deal that will see Alexis Sanchez finally leave the club in what is fast becoming a busy January for the north London side. But Aubameyang won't happen quite so quickly.

BBC Sport's David Ornstein notes that while the Gunners remain 'confident', it will 'drag on' while negotiations over the fee continue. It has also been suggested that an Arsenal player could now be included as part of it and head to Dortmund in the opposite direction.

Whether that would be fringe striker Olivier Giroud or not remains to be seen. The Frenchman was a genuine target for Dortmund during the summer and has been linked with the club once more in recent days as a result of the Aubameyang situation.

It was rumored last week that any talks over Giroud would be kept entirely separate at Dortmund's insistence, while the last update saw Arsene Wenger declare that a deal for the former Montpellier target man is 'nowhere near' an agreement.