The Gunners were booed off at half-time at Emirates Stadium after seeing Aaron Ramsey clip the crossbar with their only clear chance of the first 45 minutes.

But Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty broke the deadlock after a disputed foul by Bruno Martins Indi on Mesut Ozil, before the Gabon striker fired home from an Ozil corner.

Aubameyang then passed up the chance to claim a hat-trick after Badou Ndiaye’s push on substitute Alexandre Lacazette, who converted the penalty for a scoreline that flattered the Gunners.

Arsenal, who host CSKA Moscow in the Europa League next, remain 13 points outside the Premier League’s top four after Tottenham later won at Chelsea so Wenger understands why there were scores of empty seats.

“It’s just down to the fact that we’re not fighting for the championship,” he said. “People know that will not change now. They will be back on Thursday, don’t worry.

“It’s explainable by the fact that it’s Easter. It’s a family happening where people go away and it’s a fact that we don’t think about a lot in the Premier League. There’s also the fact that we had a break.”

Despite having 17 days between matches – a result of the international break and being out of the FA Cup – Arsenal looked laboured in possession before showing greater urgency after the break.

Stoke did hit the woodwork through Xherdan Shaqiri’s second-half corner but the hosts were in the ascendancy when the first penalty was awarded. However, replays showed that Martins Indi appeared to get his left foot to the ball before catching Ozil from behind.

Ndiaye then fired narrowly wide for Stoke before Arsenal condemned the Potters to their eighth game without a win, keeping them second from bottom and three points from safety.

–

Source: BBC

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The Gunners were booed off at half-time by another sparse and subdued home crowd after seeing Aaron Ramsey clip the crossbar with their only clear chance of the first 45 minutes.

Arsenal showed greater urgency after the break, although Stoke struck the woodwork through a Xherdan Shaqiri corner before the hosts were awarded a disputed penalty for a foul by Bruno Martins Indi on Mesut Ozil.

Aubameyang converted the spot-kick before firing home from an Ozil corner. And the Gabon striker passed up the chance to claim a hat-trick when Arsenal were awarded another penalty late on.

Badou Ndiaye pushed Alexandre Lacazette in the box and the Arsenal substitute converted to round off a scoreline which flattered the Gunners.

Despite having 17 days between matches – a result of the international break and being out of the FA Cup – Arsenal looked laboured in possession and had only just got into the ascendancy when the first penalty was awarded.

Replays showed that Arsene Wenger’s men were perhaps fortunate as Martins Indi appeared to get his left foot to the ball before catching Ozil from behind.

Ndiaye then fired narrowly wide for Stoke before Arsenal clinched a fourth straight victory with the two late goals.

They remain sixth in the Premier League table, five points adrift of Chelsea, in fifth, and 10 behind fourth-placed Tottenham before the London rivals faced each other (16:00 BST).

Despite starting on the front foot, Stoke stay second from bottom, three points from safety, after their eighth game without a win.

Could the Europa League save Arsenal’s season?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dedicated his goals to his late grandmother, Marina, whose name he had dyed in his hair
Petr Cech and Granit Xhaka had been ever-presents in the Premier League but they lost their record as Wenger left them out of the starting line-up. Laurent Koscielny was also left on the bench as he is nursing an Achilles problem.

The Arsenal manager was perhaps trying to keep them fresh for Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final first-leg meeting with CSKA Moscow.

Their European campaign has taken on huge significance for Wenger and the club, at a time when many supporters have been calling for change. There were again scores of empty seats at Emirates Stadium as disillusioned fans continue to stay away.

Arsenal look certain to miss out on a top-four finish, so it seems their only way of qualifying for next season’s Champions League is to win the Europa League. Wenger may also need to win it to convince the Arsenal board to keep him in charge.

The team he fielded against Stoke played like a side with their eyes on a bigger prize. They were sloppy and sluggish early on, and it was not until the 23rd minute that they got behind the Stoke defence for the first time.

Hector Bellerin’s low cross was deflected into the path of Ramsey, whose deft volley went behind off the bar. Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny then saw shots deflected wide.

Danny Welbeck fired wide as Arsenal improved in the second half. Elneny’s shot was then blocked, with Nacho Monreal’s follow-up saved by Jack Butland, but the Gunners breathed a sigh of relief as Shaqiri’s inswinging corner came back off the far post with David Ospina beaten.

The ruthless nature in which the home side finished the game will encourage Wenger before the European clash, though. Butland had to deny Aubameyang and Calum Chambers before their late goal burst.

Jack Wilshere’s presence, after being forced to withdraw from international duty, was a positive for both Wenger and England manager Gareth Southgate ahead of the World Cup.

‘The ref needs to watch it again’ – Stoke’s penalty rage

Stoke had frustrated Arsenal for long periods before the penalty was given and the visitors had complaints about the decision.

Manager Paul Lambert said: “I thought we were excellent and looked really good but Arsenal got the penalty. It was a game changer.

“I saw Craig Pawson after the game. I respect the referee but he has not got the benefit of television. He explained they only have one major angle to have a look at it.

“Do I have sympathy with the referee? I don’t know. It was harsh on us because I thought we were great. I’ve been here a few times and won, but we haven’t played as well as that.

Defender Bruno Martins Indi said: “It was not a challenge. I touched the ball and it was not a penalty. The referee had a different view or something and gave it.

“I could not believe it. It cost us because we played very well. It killed the moment. I’ve seen it back; I think the referee’s angle was not good enough.

“He said that I stretched my leg and I made a foul. He needs to watch it again.

“Mesut Ozil is of course going to say it’s a penalty – if I was in his position I would say the same. It was no penalty and the cameras don’t lie.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: “I will have to look at it again. I don’t know. From outside it looked like it was a penalty.”

Xherdan Shaqiri delivered nine crosses for Stoke, more than the rest of the team combined
The Potters have won just one of their 10 games under Paul Lambert, who has been trying to stamp his authority on the squad he inherited from Mark Hughes.

Erik Pieters returned after being left out of the defeat by Everton for breaking a curfew while this week Ibrahim Afellay was told to stay away from the club.

Lambert said Stoke would try to win at Arsenal and they certainly started with that intent. Rather than leaving Mame Biram Diouf as a lone striker, Shaqiri and Ramadan Sobhi were up in support.

Shaqiri curled an early effort just wide of the top corner and, partly due to Stoke’s urgency, Arsenal frequently gave the ball away in dangerous positions.

But they failed to create any more clear-cut chances in the first half and, before Shaqiri’s corner almost caught out Ospina, the best they mustered in the second was a tame curling effort by the Switzerland forward which was straight at the home keeper.

Lambert’s no-nonsense stance looks as if it will have long-term benefits, and he had no complaints about the effort of his players. But Stoke need immediate results and, in the short term, they seem to be over-reliant upon Shaqiri.

The suspended Charlie Adam said before the game that three wins from their final seven games would be enough to clinch survival.

They now have just six left but, as Adam said, they still have to play West Ham, Crystal Palace and Swansea. This result makes those games even more important.

–

Source: BBC

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The 68-year-old has faced calls to leave the Gunners – who face Stoke on Sunday – after their failure to qualify for the Champions League last season, as well as their 14-year wait to win another Premier League title.

But Wenger believes a lack of success on the pitch may not be the only factor in the criticism coming his way, telling BeIN Sport: “When you age, you focus on doing well for your club and ignore all the rest. The older you get, the more it becomes age discrimination.

“I accept if the results are not good enough then you have to take the consequences. But overall that perpetual thing of how long you have been at a club, how old you are, I find that a bit difficult to take.

“But all the rest I have to accept because I am in a public job and have to make results and I accept I will be judged on results.”

Wenger has won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during his 22 years with Arsenal and believes that, when he does finally leave the Emirates, the club’s fans will remember him for what he did for the club.

Arsenal are currently sixth in the Premier League – 13 points off the top four

He said: “I am maybe naive enough to believe that with the time going on, with perspective and context what will stand out is what I have done for my club and not so much the result of the last game or how much I will be applauded when I stop one day.

“I’m a little bit fed up of all that modern thing about completely taking care of image. I’ve always worked my whole life with the idea of who you are rather than how you look so I’m not too concerned about that.”

–

Source: Sky Sports

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Shkodran Mustafi headed in Mesut Ozil’s left-wing free-kick to give the Gunners an eighth-minute lead, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang collected Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s pass to add a second.

Watford had a chance to pull one back but Troy Deeney’s penalty was saved by Petr Cech, who secured the 200th Premier League clean sheet of his career.

Mkhitaryan sealed Arsenal’s victory, their first league win since beating Everton 5-1 on 3 February, with a shot from inside the penalty area following Aubameyang’s pass.

The result leaves the Gunners sixth, 10 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the final Champions League spot.

However, Arsenal could still qualify for next season’s Champions League if they win the Europa League, and that competition affected Arsene Wenger’s team selection on Sunday.

With Arsenal holding a 2-0 lead against AC Milan and playing the second leg of their last-16 leg tie at home on Thursday, Wenger took a risk by making six changes.

Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny were rested, with Jack Wilshere only on the bench, but the gamble paid off for Arsenal.

–

Source: BBC

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The Gunners arrived at the San Siro at arguably the lowest point of manager Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign, yet responded to a run of four straight defeats with a confident and controlled display against their Italian hosts.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first goal for the club put the Premier League side ahead, cutting in from the left to fire in with the aid of a deflection off Milan skipper Leonardo Bonucci.

Wenger spoke before the game about his team showing fight without compromising their attacking principles – and they delivered in a dominant first-half performance.

Aaron Ramsey deservedly doubled their lead before half-time, collecting Mesut Ozil’s piercing pass through the centre of Milan’s defence to round keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and tap in.

Milan tried to up the tempo after the break, wasting a clear early chance to pull one back when Giacomo Bonaventura spooned over the bar.

But Arsenal were largely unruffled from then on, limiting the home side to half chances with a solid defensive effort.

The two away goals now make the Gunners firm favourites to reach the quarter-finals after next Thursday’s second leg at Emirates Stadium.

Awesome Arsenal forget recent struggles

Arsenal travelled to Italy looking for respite from a torrid recent run during which the north London club have lost four straight games for the first time since October 2002.

A toxic atmosphere has been hanging over the club as fans continue to turn against Wenger, with 88% of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust’s (AST) 1,000 members voting this week in favour of the 68-year-old Frenchman’s contract being terminated at the end of the season.

Few of the 2,000 or so Gunners fans who travelled to the San Siro would have been confident of seeing a positive performance.

But they watched a display containing commitment and organisation – two qualities sorely lacking in recent weeks – against a Milan side revitalised under Gennaro Gattuso.

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck led the line superbly with his tireless running, allowing Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Ramsey to find space from deeper positions when the team attacked.

And defensively, they worked hard as a unit – marshalled by skipper Laurent Koscielny – to deny Milan space in attacking areas.

Arsenal’s problems are not going to be masked by one good result.

However, their display could not help but give the impression that, even in their lowest moments, it would be foolish to write off their chances of somehow going on to win the Europa League and secure a route back into the Champions League.

Gattuso’s Milan fail to live up to expectations

Seven-time European champions Milan are a shadow of the force they once were, languishing in seventh place in Serie A despite spending more than £200m last summer in a bid to change their fortunes.

However, they went into Arsenal’s visit on a crest of a wave following the arrival of former midfielder Gattuso.

He has transformed their season since replacing the sacked Vincenzo Montella in November, leading them on a 13-match unbeaten run and giving them faint hope of climbing into Serie A’s European qualification places.

Therefore, there was optimism among the 70,000 Rossoneri fans inside the atmospheric San Siro that Gattuso’s side could make a huge statement in front of a bigger European audience.

It seemed justified as they pinned Arsenal back in the opening few minutes – but that was as difficult as it got for the Gunners.

Arsenal quickly wrestled their way back into the game, their passing and movement causing uncertainty in the Milan defence and their solidity seeing the home attack quickly run out of ideas.

Man of the match – Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal)

While Koscielny, Ramsey and Ozil all had strong cases to be named man of the match, Mkhitaryan shaded it after producing one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt.

The Armenia international has showed few flashes of brilliance since arriving from Manchester United in January, but showed his quality in a competition where he has thrived since moving to England.

While Mkhitaryan struggled to make an impact in the Premier League for United last season, he scored six goals – including one in the final – as the Old Trafford club won the Europa League.

In the San Siro, he had already been giving young Milan right-back Davide Calabria a torrid time before putting Arsenal on the path to victory with his first goal for the Gunners.

He should have scored a second, clipping the crossbar shortly before Ramsey doubled the lead.

Nevertheless, Mkhitaryan’s performance offered encouragement to the travelling fans who will want to see him produce similar displays on a more regular basis.

Ozil celebrates Arsenal century – stat attack

• Arsenal earned their first win in the opening leg of a last-16 European tie since February 2011 (2-1 v Barcelona in the Champions League).
• The Gunners are the first side to beat AC Milan at the San Siro in the Europa League/Uefa Cup since February 2002. The Italians had gone 10 games without losing between these defeats.
• Arsenal’s victory ended a run of 13 games without defeat for AC Milan, with their previous loss before this coming back in December against Atalanta in Serie A.
• Ozil has been directly involved in 100 goals in 189 appearances for Arsenal – 37 goals and 63 assists.
• With five goals and nine assists this season, Ozil has had a hand in more goals than any other Arsenal player.
• Arsenal’s opener ended a run of 599 minutes without conceding a goal for AC Milan.

What’s next?

Back to the Premier League for sixth-placed Arsenal. The Gunners, who are 13 points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham, host mid-table Watford at the Emirates on Sunday (13:30 GMT).

–

Source: BBC Sport

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Lewis Dunk put Brighton ahead when he hooked the ball home from a corner after it dropped to him inside the six-yard box.

The Seagulls added a second when Laurent Koscielny’s misplaced pass was intercepted and Pascal Gross teased a high cross into the box for Glenn Murray to head past Petr Cech.

Arsenal pulled a goal back when Brighton failed to clear their lines. Granit Xhaka fed the ball into Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, who cleverly flicked the ball home with the outside of his boot.

Arsenal dominated possession in the second half and had a late chance to equalise through Aubameyang but he could only shoot straight at Mathew Ryan.

The Gunners were also fortunate not to have Sead Kolasinac, who had already been booked, sent off for a challenge that ended Ezequiel Schelotto’s involvement.

Under-fire Wenger loses four in a row

Arsenal were meek in back-to-back 3-0 defeats to Manchester City in the EFL Cup final at Wembley last Sunday and at the Emirates in the Premier League four days later.

Losing to Pep Guardiola’s irresistible champions-elect is one thing, but to a Brighton side battling relegation will not be so palatable for Arsenal fans growing increasingly tired of Wenger’s reign.

It was the first time the Gunners had lost four consecutive matches since October 2002 in a run that saw them beaten by Everton, Auxerre, Blackburn and Borussia Dortmund.

They were defending champions that season and ended the campaign as runners-up to Manchester United but retained the FA Cup.

Over 15 years later and things are not quite so rosy for Wenger with the club seemingly in terminal decline.

Wenger, initially at least, did not look like a man under pressure at the Amex as he warmly embraced Brighton counterpart Chris Hughton and shared a joke with a photographer.

However, by early in the second half with his side 2-1 down his mood darkened and he nervously pulled apart a coffee stirrer as he sat on the bench.

The travelling fans, who held up ‘Wenger out’ banners at the final whistle, will want the Arsenal board to wake up and smell it.

–

Source: BBC Sport

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said his side were complacent as they survived a huge scare against Swedish minnows Ostersunds FK to claim a place in the last 16 of the Europa League.

The Gunners won the first leg 3-0 but one of football’s great shocks looked possible at half-time after the visitors struck two goals in 70 seconds.

Graham Potter’s side, who have risen from Sweden’s fourth tier since 2010, were on top in the first half and led 2-0 thanks to Calum Chambers’ own goal – deflecting in Hosam Aiesh’s shot – and Ken Sema’s clinical strike.

But the Gunners – who named a reasonably strong side only three days before their Carabao Cup final with Manchester City – improved slightly after the break and Sead Kolasinac finished from Hector Bellerin’s cross to relieve the sense of dread inside Emirates Stadium.

“We were not at the races in the first half,” said Wenger, who saw his side booed off at half-time and full-time.

“I think in the second half it was much better and we should have scored a few goals.

“In the first half we were in trouble and in danger because we were complacent, not focused and were open every time we lost the ball. We had no ideas with the ball and that’s why we were in trouble.

“We responded very well because we did the job to qualify, but that’s what we have to take from the night and that’s all.”

Arsenal, who have never won the Uefa Cup or Europa League, will discover their last-16 opponents at 12:00 GMT on Friday.

Ostersund are only the second team to win a game at the Emirates in the Gunners’ last 28 matches – a run dating back to March 2017.

‘Not a formality’ said Wenger – he wasn’t wrong

Wenger made only three changes from the first leg and the Frenchman insisted the game was “not a formality”.

But even with 21 years’ experience at the club, surely even he did not foresee what was to come in the first half, with the hosts looking shell-shocked and Ostersund fully deserving of the lead.

Chambers was arguably at fault for both strikes. For the first, he turned home Aiesh’s shot and for the second he was beaten to the ball by Sema and then turned away from the winger’s superb finish.

Things got better in the second half, although had they got worse this would probably have gone down as Wenger’s lowest point as Arsenal boss.

Granit Xhaka replaced young midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles at the break and the Gunners looked reasonably comfortable once Kolasinac took advantage of Ronald Mukiibi’s air-kick from Bellerin’s cross to lash home.

Danny Welbeck had four chances to score, but he headed two straight at Aly Keita, chipped the other to the goalkeeper and shot straight at him again in the last minute.

Welbeck’s efforts typified a poor night for the hosts, and on this evidence these players will not have given Wenger any selection problems for Sunday’s EFL Cup final at Wembley.

“We prepared properly and in a serious way,” said Wenger. “But you have external circumstances such as the fact we won 3-0, the fact that we have another big game on Sunday, the fact that people subconsciously think you just have to turn up to win the game. Football doesn’t work like that.

“It’s better not to talk too much tonight, and focus on our next game.”

Ostersund’s fairytale comes to an end (for now)

Ostersund might be out – but a 14-game debut European campaign ending in a victory at Arsenal is a story for the ages.

For a team who have not played a league game since November – the Swedish league is a summer event – they showed no sign of rustiness.

Their remarkable story has been told many times this season: since Englishman Potter’s appointment in 2010, they have risen from the fourth tier to win last season’s Swedish Cup and qualify for Europe.

Potter said before the game they needed a “miracle” and after 23 minutes, it looked like a genuine possibility.

Jamie Hopcutt, whose last English club was Tadcaster Albion, had an early shot blocked and Sema forced a save from David Ospina at his near post.

Their fans were still celebrating the opening goal, perhaps slightly harshly taken away from Aiesh and deemed an own goal, when Sema smashed home their second. Saman Ghoddos – praised by Wenger after the first leg – helped set up both goals.

Curtis Edwards, another former English non-league player, shot wide from 30 yards and Ghoddos had a free-kick saved by Ospina as they pushed for an aggregate equaliser.

The dream was practically over after Kolasinac’s strike but their heads did not drop – they kept going and they still had chances to score again.

They finished fifth in the 2017 Swedish league, not good enough for European qualification, but they can still return if they win the Swedish Cup, which runs from the summer until the spring.

Potter also joins a select club as only the sixth English manager to win a game at the Emirates, along with Alan Curbishley, Phil Brown, Harry Redknapp, Michael Appleton and Garry Monk.

Man of the match – everyone at Ostersund

‘Just short of the miracle’

Ostersunds FK boss Graham Potter, speaking to BT Sport: “I am very, very proud of the players and the supporters. To play in the manner we did I felt we showed real courage and bravery and played some good football against a top team.

“At 2-0 we thought we had a chance. We played well, won the game but it was just short of the miracle.

“Apart from the first 20 minutes at home we went toe-to-toe with Arsenal which is no mean feat considering where we have come from.

“It is a learning experience we have been having. It was the first time we were playing in the last 32. Over the course of the game we have shown what we are about and what we are trying to do. Today is a day to be proud of what we did over the two matches.”

Stats – 33% of Arsenal own goals are from Chambers

• Despite progressing into the next round, Arsenal have now lost each of their last six home games in the knockout rounds of European competition.
• Arsenal’s defenders have contributed 20 goals in all competitions this season, the most of any Premier League side (Chelsea 16, Man City 10).
• The Gunners have conceded in each of their last six at the Emirates in all competitions; their longest run without a clean sheet there since May 2014 (seven consecutive games).
• Ostersunds FK are the first Swedish side to win an away European match in England since Osters IF beat Tottenham Hotspur in the 1995 Intertoto Cup.
• Arsenal have scored nine own goals since Calum Chambers debuted for them in August 2014 – he has been responsible for 33% of them (three).

What’s next?

Arsenal play Manchester City twice in the next eight days. The EFL Cup final is followed by Thursday’s Premier League game at Emirates Stadium.

Ostersund’s league season does not start until April. But they are in Swedish Cup group stage action on Monday, away to third-tier Atvidaberg.

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Romelu Lukaku put the hosts in front before Alexis Sanchez scored his first goal for the Red Devils, converting the rebound after his initial penalty was saved, and the visitors fell into the drop zone with a fourth straight defeat.

Earlier, Johann Berg Gudmundsson scored a late equaliser for Burnley as City failed to win for just the fourth time this season.

Danilo scored a superb, curling opener for Pep Guardiola’s side but the visitors failed to take their chances, with Raheem Sterling missing an open goal inside the six-yard box.

In the late match at the Emirates Stadium, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a debut goal and Aaron Ramsey netted his first hat-trick to give Arsenal a thrilling 5-1 victory over Everton.

Fellow January signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan also picked up a hat-trick of assists.

At the other end of the table, Southampton moved out of the relegation zone after holding on to beat bottom side West Brom 3-2 at The Hawthorns.

Ahmed Hegazi put the hosts ahead, only for Saints to score twice in three minutes before the break through Mario Lemina’s superb strike and Jack Stephens’ flick at the back post.

James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick made it 3-1 to the visitors and, although Salomon Rondon pulled a goal back, Alan Pardew’s side failed to level.

Swansea are just above the bottom three after a 1-1 draw with Leicester, with Federico Fernandez’s header cancelling out Jamie Vardy’s opener.

Elsewhere, Brighton moved up to 13th and level on points with opponents West Ham after a comfortable 3-1 victory. Javier Hernandez levelled after Glenn Murray’s opener but Jose Izquierdo scored a sublime second and Pascal Gross drilled in a third from 20 yards.

And Bournemouth came from a goal down to beat Stoke – Joshua King and Lys Mousset scoring for the Cherries after Xherdan Shaqiri put the visitors in front on five minutes.

In the Championship, Cardiff maintained their promotion push with a comprehensive 4-1 win at Leeds.

The Bluebirds remain fourth, two points behind Aston Villa, who secured their sixth successive win with a 3-2 victory over bottom side Burton.

–

Source: BBC Sport

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Ozil, 29, becomes the highest-paid player in the club’s history – earning about £350,000 a week before tax.

The deal, signed on Wednesday, follows months of speculation about the future of the Germany international, whose previous contract was due to expire at the end of the season.

He joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in 2013 for a then club record £42.4m.

Ozil could have left Arsenal as a free agent in the summer and had been able to discuss a move with foreign clubs since 1 January.

The playmaker has made 21 appearances this term, scoring four goals and recording six assists, and his new deal commits him to the Premier League club until he is 32.

Ozil has won three FA Cups in his three-and-a-half-year spell at Emirates Stadium – and no other player has recorded more assists or created more chances in the Premier League since his debut in September 2013.

He also has 88 caps for Germany and won the 2014 World Cup.

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Source: BBC

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The Gunners had two bids for the 28-year-old rejected by Dortmund before agreeing a fee that eclipses the £46.5m July purchase of Alexandre Lacazette.

Dortmund agreed to complete the deal after striking a deal to sign Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi on loan.

Arsenal said the 2015 African Footballer of the Year had joined on “a long-term contract”.

Aubameyang scored 141 goals in 213 games for Dortmund since 2013, including 21 in 24 matches this season.

But he was suspended by the German club for their match against Wolfsburg on 14 January for missing a team meeting.

The forward was also left out of the squad for their next game game at Hertha Berlin because club officials felt he was not focused enough, but he played 90 minutes in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Freiburg.

Aubameyang joined Dortmund from French club Saint-Etienne in 2013.

During his stay with the Bundesliga club the only major trophy he won was the German Cup in 2017.

He was named Bundesliga player of the year in 2016, and last season was the German top flight’s most prolific scorer with 31 goals.

He has played 56 times for Gabon, scoring 23 goals.

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Source: BBC

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