Arsenal’s Premier League and European rivals believe the club will be forced to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the next transfer window.

The financial impact of the coronavirus is already being felt at Arsenal with players taking a 12.5 per cent pay cut.

Talks over a new contract for top scorer Aubameyang are also on hold, increasing the prospect of the 30-year-old attracting offers in the next transfer window.

Aubameyang will only have a year remaining on his contract once this season ends and Arsenal cannot afford to risk losing one of their biggest assets for free.

His situation is already being monitored by Barcelona and Inter Milan, while, in England, Chelsea have made signing a new striker one of their priorities in the next transfer window.

Head coach Mikel Arteta is desperate to keep Aubameyang, but rival clubs believe financial pressures may now dictate Arsenal’s decision.

Barcelona made an enquiry about Aubameyang towards the end of the January transfer window, but were told Arsenal would not consider any bids under £50 million.

That valuation may now have to drop, which could make Aubameyang one of the relative bargains of the next window.

Barcelona could reignite their interest, while Inter Milan will consider him as a replacement for Lautaro Martinez if the Spaniards instead move for the Argentine forward.

In England, Chelsea will try to sign a striker in the next transfer window and Aubameyang’s experience and proven Premier League record will be attractive.

Since joining Arsenal in January 2018, Aubameyang has scored 49 Premier League goals in 75 appearances and had netted 20 times in all competitions this term before the season was suspended.

He was made Arsenal captain after Granit Xhaka was stripped of the armband and scored 15 goals in 32 Champions League games for his former club Borussia Dortmund.

Aubameyang earns just under £200,000-a-week at Arsenal, but his salary is topped up by a series of lucrative bonuses.

The club are reluctant to hand him a big pay rise, having become mindful of the position they put themselves in over Mesut Ozil’s £350,000-a-week deal.

Arsenal also look unable to offer Aubameyang Champions League football for next season, with the striker desperate to test himself in Europe’s top competition again.

Already eliminated from the Europa League, Arsenal were ninth in the table, eight points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand, when the Premier League was suspended.