Arsenal Transfer News: Serge Aurier Fee Emerges, Latest Rumours

Arsenal will reportedly have to part with £11.8 million if they want to sign out-of-favour defender Serge Aurier from Paris Saint-Germain.

That’s according to Fichajes (h/t Mark Brus of Metro), which noted the Gunners are interested in the Ivory Coast international, who is said to be available. It’s claimed in the piece that despite Aurier’s recent undesirable conduct Arsenal preserve an interest in the 23-year-old, especially for a cut-price.

On the field, Aurier has been a brilliant player for Les Parisiens this season. Here’s a look at the kind of quality he can bring to the right-back slot:

	Aurier	Bellerin
Apps (Sub)	19	24
Goals	2	0
Assists	2	1
Key passes per game	0.6	0.7
Passing accuracy	88%	85.5%
Dribbles per game	1.2	1.5
Tackles per game	3.9	1.6
Interceptions per game	3.6	1.9

Indeed, Aurier is a balanced footballer. His dynamism and stamina allows him to surge forward and join attacks, while he’s also defensively adept and brilliant at covering his centre-backs. Given his age and the potential improvements he could still make, the fee mentioned does seem like a bargain in pure footballing terms.

Here’s how Aurier compares in league matches this season to Arsenal’s starting right-back, Hector Bellerin:

There’s a reason why the French champions are reportedly willing to part company with the talented defender, though. As noted by Brus, earlier this month he hosted a Periscope session, in which he made derogatory comments about manager Laurent Blanc and team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

As reported by the Press Association (via the Guardian), Aurier met with club officials earlier this week to discuss the incident. He was indefinitely suspended by the club initially and is now waiting to see if he will receive any further punishment having apologised for his behaviour in an interview with the club’s TV channel.

Despite the disparaging nature of his comments, Aurier has received support from those close to him. Compatriot and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba posted the following on Twitter:

Former team-mate Ezequiel Lavezzi has also backed Aurier to recover from this setback. “We all make mistakes, the important thing is to fix them, grow and make the necessary apologies, which Serge did. I'm with you,” the forward wrote on his Twitter feed (h/t Sacha Pisani of Goal).

FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images

Arsenal could certainly do with a right-back. Mathieu Debuchy doesn’t seem to have a long-term future at the club having been sent out on loan, while Calum Chambers, currently Bellerin’s deputy, is more comfortable in the centre of defence.  

Aurier would face a fight to get in at the Emirates Stadium, though. As noted by Spanish football expert Rafael Hernandez, Bellerin is developing very well:

"

As usual, Bellerin had a nice match and his acceleration never ceases to astound me, shaping up to become a great right back.

— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) February 23, 2016"

He made a big mistake, but he’s apologised, expressed a willingness to move forward and learn.

However, it’s likely the critical element of trust between Aurier, his team-mates and his manager has disintegrated, making it understandable if PSG are considering a sale.

Arsenal could be a brilliant club to rebuild his career, and while Aurier certainly wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot in the starting XI, he’d add quality to a key position.

Manager Arsene Wenger is renowned for his ability to shape the careers of young players and if he could do the same with the PSG man after an £11.8 million move, it’d prove to be a fine bit of transfer business.