Wenger delighted by Aubameyang signing

Arsene Wenger has admitted to being delighted at signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, though did go on to say the deal is not fully over the line and should be concluded on deadline day.

Aubameyang arrived in London on Tuesday after boarding a private jet in Dortmund, but has been made to wait to finalise his switch due to deals involving other players, including the sale of Olivier Giroud.

As reported by Goal, Giroud has since agreed terms over an £18 million move to Chelsea, freeing up space and funds to accommodate Aubameyang in the Arsenal squad, and Wenger is understandably happy to be adding the Gabonese goal machine to his ranks.

“Yes, it's good news,” Wenger said. “We need people who can give us more offensive power – at the moment we are not efficient enough going forward and I'm convinced he will bring us that. 

“He has a big challenge in front of him. He wants to do well in the Premier League and, overall, I believe he is welcome and that's absolutely good news for us.”

“But, of course, very important [is that we] make that happen soon because it's not over the line yet - but hopefully it should be done tomorrow [Wednesday].”

Famously clued up on players in France's Ligue 1, Wenger was asked what he felt the former Saint-Etienne striker's main attributes are ahead of confirmation of the 28-year-old's move to the Emirates.

“His pace, his finishing, the quality of his runs, the quality of his reception – including crosses,” the manager went on, “His huge physical capacity will be important in the Premier League because the physical level is very high.”

Having lost Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal will hope the signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan will replace some of the creative void left by the Chilean, and Wenger is believes the fact both the Armenian and Aubameyang played together at Dortmund will contribute to a quick settling in period for both players.

“Yes, that's what we hope and I think we are keen to see them all together to see how well we can do,” he said.

“They played together, they know each other, so the old reflexes will certainly come back very quickly and that will contribute to offensive efficiency.”