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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang became the latest big money Arsenal signing to leave for free, with the Gunners struggling to receive transfer fees for their stars.
Aubameyang, who was Arsenal's record signing from Borussia Dortmund when he joined for £56 million in 2018, was deemed surplus to requirements by Mikel Arteta.
Having been stripped of the captaincy and then left out of the squad for repeated disciplinary breaches, the Gabon international's contract was terminated by Arsenal to allow him to join Barcelona on deadline day.
It meant that they didn't receive a transfer fee for the former Saint-Etienne forward.
But it's a familiar situation for Arsenal, who have let a number of their players leave for absolutely nothing in recent times.
Calum Chambers also left in January on a free, signing a three-and-a-half year contract with Aston Villa.
Fellow defenders Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Sead Kolasinac have also gone for free, while so too did Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil.
Overall, we're talking a whopping £194 million worth of signings that Arsenal have not received any money for.
And concerningly for Arsenal, they have a number of current players whose contracts are expiring in the summer window and risk losing them for free.
Striker Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah look set to follow Aubameyang in departing without a transfer fee, as does midfielder Mohamed Elneny.
Meanwhile, it's emerged that Arsenal paid Aubameyang a lump sum to rip up his £350,000-a-week contract. The Times say the 32-year-old received £7 million in compensation.
He is believed to have taken a salary cut at Barcelona, though there's talk the club have the option to terminate his deal in the event of an act of ill-discipline.
Aubameyang could find himself excluded from the club's Europa League squad as UEFA rules stipulate Blaugrana can only register three out of their four January signings for the knockout rounds.
Featured Image Credit: Image: PATopics: Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil
Josh Lawless