Arsenal move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with opening bid of £35m plus Olivier Giroud for Dortmund star

Arsenal are set to make an opening offer of £35m plus striker Olivier Giroud for Borussia Dortmund star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gabon international, who is expected to hold showdown talks over his future with the Bundesliga club today, has been earmarked by Arsenal as a replacement for Manchester United bound Alexis Sanchez.

It is understood that no direct talks between the two clubs have taken place for the forward, who is valued at £53.3m. As Dortmund are listed on the stock exchange, they have to disclose all inquiries for one of their players.

But with former Dortmund scout Sven Mislantat now head of recruitment at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal are confident a deal is possible.

Mislantat has recommended the club move for the 28-year-old, despite his disciplinary problems.

Aubameyang, who has scored 21 goals in 24 appearances this season, was left out of the squad for the match against Wolfsburg at the weekend after missing a team meeting.

It is the third time in two seasons he has been punished for misbehaving by the club, who are believed to have fined him around £89,000.

Aubameyang has asked the club to leave on two prior occasions and it has been reported in Germany that he told sporting director Michael Zorc of his desire to depart for a third time at the weekend.

Chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has revealed that a meeting between Aubameyang, Zorc and head coach Peter Stoger will take place on Tuesday.

He said: "Auba has to talk to the coach and tell him whether he is ready to give everything for Borussia Dortmund. [Peter Stoger and Michael Zorc will discuss it with him."

Stoger claims that he still expects the club's top scorer to stay, adding: "Let's see how it develops in the next days.

"For me it is just logical [that Aubameyang stays]. He is a player of BVB, he trains and he is in our plans for the upcoming match."

Should Dortmund decide otherwise, they will have to find a replacement and Giroud has been on their wish-list for some time.

The France international has become a fringe player at Emirates Stadium and has started just one League game all season.

Arsenal hope offering Giroud as a makeweight in the deal will convince Dortmund to sell.

Aubameyang's arrival will help fill the void left by Sanchez, who is closing in on a switch to Old Trafford despite claims that Chelsea are considering a late offer.

Chelsea are not expected to meet the steep cost of Sanchez. Arsenal are asking for £35m, while Sanchez wants a minimum salary of £300,000-a-week, a signing on fee of up to £20m, plus his agent wants a £10m fee.

Meanwhile, Bordeaux president Stephane Martin insists his club will not sell Malcom to Arsenal this month.

He said: “They can always try, but they will struggle to take him from us.”