Aubameyang, Giroud and Batshuayi in transfer triangle as window shuts

LONDON - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record $79 million on Wednesday, with Olivier Giroud moving to Chelsea as part of an interdependent transfer triangle.

The Blues announced the arrival of Arsenal sniper Giroud on an 18-month contract for around $25.5 million and striker Michy Batshuayi's departure for Dortmund to replace Aubameyang in a loan deal until May.

As the clock ticked down to the closure of the English transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain but Manchester City pulled out of a deal for Leicester's Riyad Mahrez.

The Premier League's elite have splashed the cash in the January window, desperate to secure a top-four finish, which guarantees entry into the lucrative Champions League.

Aubameyang signed a contract with the Gunners until 2021, becoming Arsenal's second big-name signing of the month after Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined from Manchester United.

The arrival of Gabon international Aubameyang boosts Arsene Wenger's forward options after the departure of Alexis Sanchez to United in a swap deal with Mkhitaryan but raises questions about Alexandre Lacazette's future in the Gunners' starting XI.

The prolific Aubameyang compared himself to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, telling the club's website he was attracted by the "big history" of the club, which sits eight points back of the Premier League's top four after a 3-1 loss at relegation-threatened Swansea City on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old will be reunited at Emirates Stadium with former Dortmund teammate Mkhitaryan - a post on Arsenal's Twitter account pictured the two players together accompanied by the message "Friends reunited".

Aubameyang, renowned as much for his playboy lifestyle as his goals in Germany, posted a message on Instagram apologizing for the circumstances surrounding his departure from Dortmund.

"Perhaps it was not the best way for me to have decided, but everyone knows that Auba is crazy," he wrote.

"And yes, I am crazy lad, hahahaha. I have made mistakes, but I never had any bad intentions. I will never forget these four-and-a-half years at Borussia Dortmund."

Giroud move

Frenchman Giroud, 31, who has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot since joining Arsenal in 2012, said he was delighted to be joining Chelsea.

Belgian forward Batshuayi, 24, arrives in Dortmund as a direct replacement for Aubameyang, to complete the three-way puzzle.

Brazil winger Lucas challenged his new Tottenham team-mates to win the Champions League after arriving from PSG for a reported $35.5 million.

"It's a chapter in my life, a new challenge for me. I am so happy," said Lucas in a video posted on Tottenham's Twitter feed.

Pep Guardiola's City were reported to have pulled out of a bid for winger Mahrez, who won the Premier League with Leicester in 2015-16, after making a final cash-plus-player offer worth up to $92 million, according to Sky Sports.

City has lost influential Germany winger Leroy Sane for at least six weeks with an ankle injury and with the club competing on four fronts Guardiola suggested he may need reinforcements.

"Right now, it's the same as (Alexis) Sanchez, it's not the place to talk about it. It's so difficult," Guardiola said on Tuesday when asked about Mahrez.

"If things are not possible, then nothing is going to happen. We don't have too much time and we play every three days. We have to find solutions."

City paid a club-record fee of $81 million for 23-year-old French centerback Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao, whose deal was confirmed on Tuesday.

Swansea, which is second-from-bottom in the leauge despite Tuesday's 2-1 win over Arsenal, brought Ghanaian forward Andre Ayew back to south Wales from West Ham late on Wednesday - 18 months after he joined the Hammers for $29 million.

The Swans said they had re-signed the 28-year-old for an undisclosed club-record fee on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

Agence France - presse