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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Omar Garrick

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang boosts Manchester United as Arsenal exit may prompt transfer windfall

Manchester United saw the January transfer window as a chance to offload some of their players in need of first-team minutes, whether they be fringe players struggling to break into the starting XI or youngsters looking for experience in senior football.

United's fans were left frustrated at the lack of efforts to bolster the squad during the mid-season window, a feeling Arsenal supporters know all too well.

Having shipped out the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Folarin Balogun on loan, the Gunners then realised they had barely any central-midfielders or centre-forwards remaining at the club.

After their pursuit of Dusan Vlahovic fell flat, many expected them to regroup before trying to sign a striker in the summer - instead, they decided to make matters worse by selling their most prolific striker.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's very public falling out with Mikel Arteta has led to the Gabon international securing a move to La Liga giants Barcelona. No matter what you think about Aubameyang, his exit is a huge blow to Arsenal's hopes of finishing in the top four.

Arsenal's only remaining recognised strikers at the club are now Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, neither of whom have been particularly prolific over recent seasons.

The Gunners are now in serious danger of falling behind in the race for the top four and that can only be good news for Ralf Rangnick and United.

It should be added that United trimmed their frontline options themselves in January.

Sanctioning Anthony Martial's loan departure could turn out to be a mistake by United, but Rangnick still has a wealth of options at his disposal, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani still two of the best finishers in the game despite both being in the twilight of their respective careers.

A lot of United fans would tell you the January window has been a catastrophe given the club's inability to sign a defensive midfielder. However, Rangnick has moved on some players who needed moving on and you'd like to think those remaining at the club are good enough to step up when needed.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have left themselves with a strikeforce who've scored a combined total of three Premier League goals all season - not looking so bad anymore, are we?

United have definitely made improvements since Rangnick arrived but they'll count for nothing if the club don't secure a place in next season's Champions League.

In order to be able to attract players to Old Trafford, United need to be able to offer European football - not to mention they also need to be able to pay for them, something the Champions League will definitely help with - and watching one of their biggest rivals press the self-destruct button can only be a good thing for United.

Has Aubameyang's move boosted United's top four chances? Follow our United On My Mind writer Omar Garrick on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.

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