Former Arsenal transfer negotiator, Dick Law has revealed that they could not have managed to land Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang without the help of Chelsea.
The Gabonese striker moved to North London from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 for a club-record £56million.
But the move from Borussia Dortmund was complicated and the Gunners needed cooperation from their rivals.
Dortmund wanted to bring in Michy Batshuayi as Aubayemang’s replacement, while Chelsea wanted Olivier Giroud from Arsenal.
“The Aubameyang deal was crazy because Giroud wanted out.
“Chelsea were loaning Michy Batshuayi to Dortmund and Aubameyang was coming to us.
“It was the three-way deal. Dortmund said if we don’t get the player from Chelsea, then Aubameyang doesn’t leave and, of course, if we didn’t get Aubameyang, we weren’t going to let Giroud go.
“In football, we don’t end up talking to our counterparts on a personal basis very much, but we were at such loggerheads during that three-way move that I called Marina [Granovskaia] and said everything was going to live or die on the three of us trusting each other.
“I’ve got so much respect for Marina, she’s always been a straight shooter. And she said if we get Giroud, we will loan our player to Dortmund and then you guys can sort yourselves out with them. And that’s what happened,” Law told Goal.
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