Prince William tried to convince Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to sign for Aston Villa but instead got a telling off from Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
Aubameyang has been subject to transfer speculation over recent months as he will be entering the final year of his contract this summer.
The Duke of Cambridge, who is a big Villa fan, took the opportunity to try and get the striker to the Midlands club.
While speaking to members of the Arsenal squad, as well as head coach Arteta, about mental health, Prince William said: “I just want to say Pierre, I hope you are at Aston Villa next year.”
Arsenal manager Arteta clearly didn’t agree with the suggestion and began wagging his finger on the Zoom video call.
“I’ve got to put that in there just in case,” added the Duke. “Mikel and I will have some words later.”
Talking mental health, @Arsenal…and the chances of @Aubameyang7 signing for Aston Villa!
This year’s @EmiratesFACup will be renamed the the #HeadsUpFACup
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) June 11, 2020
Talking mental health, 
as part of the 
Prince William was speaking to Arteta, Aubameyang, Hector Bellerin and Per Mertesacker about mental health following the announcement that this season’s FA Cup final will be rebranded the Heads Up FA Cup.
Spearheaded by The Duke of Cambridge, Heads Up is a partnership between Heads Together and The FA that harnesses the influence and popularity of football to change the conversation on mental health.
“Have you come across other players or other staff members who have had struggles with their mental health?” asked the Duke.
Aubameyang said: “I was playing with some players that had some difficulties with their mental health. The most important is to be next to them and try to speak a lot with them.”
Arteta added: “You have to create an environment for them to be able to talk to you directly without feeling judged.”
Mertesacker continued: “I thought I need to be strong, resilient. Nowadays there are more mechanisms than ever to start a conversations.”
Prince William added: “I’m really pleased you guys are all coming back to football soon. As you can see behind me I’ve got the FA Cup and it’s going to be named the Heads Up FA Cup, which is great news.
“We are really going to use the final as a way to promote positive mental health for everyone.”
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By: Joshua
Title: Prince William tries to get Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to sign for Aston Villa… but gets a telling off from Mikel Arteta instead
Sourced From: talksport.com/football/fa-cup/716456/prince-william-arsenal-pierre-emerick-aubameyang-aston-villa-mikel-arteta/
Published Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2020 13:54:22 +0000
