Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang won't become another Mesut Ozil

Mikel Arteta has dismissed comparisons between Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil and insists the striker is ‘totally’ committed to Arsenal.

Manager Arteta insists he is ‘positive’ Aubameyang will not become a financial burden for Arsenal like previous £350,000-a-week top-earner Ozil who under-performed after signing his new deal before being offloaded in January.

Pundit Jamie Carragher raised the prospect of history repeating itself but Arteta said: ‘I’m always positive about the future but, once you think about things that happen in the past or compare different situations and personalities, I won’t do that.’

Mikel Arteta insisted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is ‘totally’ committed to Arsenal

Aubameyang was dropped for Slavia Prague draw on Thursday over concerns about his form

Aubameyang, 31, joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 and brought the form that had made him one of Europe’s most prolific strikers with him from Germany.

The Gabon striker scored 70 goals in his first 109 appearances and effectively won Arsenal last season’s FA Cup and this year’s Community Shield, netting all five goals the Gunners scored in the semi-final, final and 2020-21 curtain-raiser.

He was subsequently rewarded with a new deal ahead of this season. But, affected during the campaign by injury problems and a serious illness to his mother, Aubameyang has been unable to match his previous heights.

His heroics before signing his new deal also appear to have been quickly forgotten by some of his critics, despite Aubameyang being just one of a number of Arsenal players who have failed to produce their best consistently this season.

The striker had a miserable game against Liverpool and was one of the worst performers 

Mesut Ozil (pictured left back in 2019) vastly under-performed at Arsenal, but Arteta insisted Aubameyang’s situation is not the same

Arteta has invited further questions about Aubameyang by dropping him for Arsenal’s Europa League quarter-final against Slavia Prague.

With Arsenal 10th in the league, 10 points off the top four and with work to do to reach the Europa League last four, Arteta is also under increasing scrutiny.

He came under fire for his tactics, team selection and leaving it too late to make attacking changes against Slavia Prague, not introducing Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe, who combined for Arsenal’s goal, until the 78th minute.

And the concerns voiced by fans in the wake of the Europa League setback are understood to be shared by some members of Arteta’s squad, who have also been privately questioning his methods.

Failure to progress past Slavia — or turn things around in the league — will leave Arsenal preparing for their first season without European football since 1995-96.

Asked if he is under pressure to get Arsenal into Europe, Arteta said: ‘It is not pressure — it is our responsibility. The club we represent has high demands and that is the minimum we can ask for and we have to, over time, work to deliver those goals because it is what we get asked for.’

Arteta said he was pleased with Aubameyang’s contribution off the bench vs Slavia Prague

Meanwhile, Arsenal are close to tying down teen starlet Folarin Balogun on a new long-term deal. As revealed on Friday by Sportsmail, the striker is on the verge of agreeing a contract extension — understood to be a four-year agreement.

The 19 year-old’s current contract is due to expire at the end of the season and his situation alerted a string of clubs at home and abroad.

But he is set to pen fresh terms with Arsenal once a few remaining details are finalised, with Mikel Arteta managing to convince Balogun that he has a long-term future at the Emirates.

The Europa League tie is finely poised after Slavia Prague grabbed a last-minute equaliser