LONDON -- Arsene Wenger has confirmed Arsenal have held discussions with Borussia Dortmund over the transfer of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but he says a deal is not currently close.
Olivier Giroud is also expected to move in the opposite direction as part of the deal, but Wenger was more coy on the future of the Frenchman.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined the club on Monday evening, with Alexis Sanchez going in the opposite direction in a swap deal. And now Wenger is hoping to further bolster his attacking options with Aubameyang.
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke confirmed on Saturday that the Gunners had made contact, but this is the first time Wenger himself had admitted he hopes to conclude a deal for the Gabon international.
Asked if he was confident that Aubameyang would be at Arsenal be the end of the month, Wenger said: "Confident or not confident, I don't know. At the moment we are not close to do any deals with Aubameyang or anybody else."
On whether Giroud could go the other way, he added: "Look, the negotiations are not as far as that."
Source: espn.co.uk