Tony Cascarino blasts Arsenal for the contract they gave Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when signing him in January 2018
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang underlined just how important he is to Arsenal as the Gunners sealed their 14th FA Cup triumph at the weekend.
The captain scored twice as Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea at Wembley - the winner seeing Aubameyang produce a nice piece of skill before expertly dinking the ball over Willy Caballero in the Blues goal.
It ensured a nice ending to a difficult season for the club but Aubameyang has been brilliant throughout, having finished the 2019/20 campaign on 22 goals.
Arsenal appear to be going in the right direction under Mikel Arteta, however, the uncertainty surrounding their star striker's future is a dark cloud hanging over the club.
Gabon international Aubameyang is in the final year of his contract so the current transfer window will realistically be Arsenal's last chance to receive any money through his sale. He stayed quiet on his future when asked about it after the final.
Arteta still holds hope that Aubameyang, 31, will sign a new deal and outlined his plans to 'build the squad around him' immediately after the win over Chelsea.
The manager said: "He knows what I think about him. I want to build the squad around him. I think he wants to stay and it is just about getting the deal done.
"But I think these moments will help him to realise and believe that we are on the right path and he is a big part of that. He is loved by everybody at the club. Hopefully he can continue with us."
It's an unenviable position for Arsenal to be in but talkSPORT's Tony Cascarino believes this problem started right from when they signed Aubameyang in January 2018.
Arsenal paid Borussia Dortmund £60million for the striker, who signed a three-and-a-half year deal, which Cas' believes was a mistake.
He told talkSPORT: "You should never give a £60million player a three-and-a-half year deal. That's too short a contract. That's where it all started.
"If they'd got him on a five-year deal you'd have had him till 33 which I'm sure would've been perfect."