Arsenal fans will be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja-vu regarding speculation about the future of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The club has developed an unwelcome habit of allowing the contracts of their key players to wind down, and the same looks set to be the case for their captain and top scorer.

Aubameyang's current deal expires in 2021, but reports have suggested that the Gunners could consider cashing in on the Gabon international this summer in order to avoid losing him for free.

Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona are among the clubs to have been credited with an interest in the striker, but perhaps the most worrying link so far for Arsenal fans arose this week with rumours that London rivals Chelsea are also keeping tabs on the situation.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Frank Lampard could line his side up if they were to poach Aubameyang from their capital neighbours.

Aubameyang is more than capable of playing through the middle, but more often than not at Arsenal he has operated from the left flank, which would seem to fit in well with Chelsea's plans.

Lampard will be reluctant to stifle the development of Tammy Abraham following a breakthrough campaign at Stamford Bridge, and putting Aubameyang into the team alongside the England international would also help to share the goalscoring burden.

Chelsea are likely to lose some of their current wide options this summer too with the contracts of Pedro and Willian set to expire, meaning that the arrival of Aubameyang would help to plug those gaps.

The Blues also have youthful options in that area of the field, though, with Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi available should Aubameyang be deployed through the middle - which may be the case if Lampard switches to the 3-4-2-1 he has used with increasing regularity this season.

With four at the back there will be a decision to make regarding where Cesar Azpilicueta plays - the emergence of Reece James at right-back has shifted him from his regular position but he is equally at home in the middle or even on the left, which could be particularly handy considering the speculation over the futures of Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri.

Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Fikayo Tomori are other options at the heart of the defence, while behind them Kepa Arrizabalaga's future remains in doubt.

Future Chelsea starting XIs are likely to see Billy Gilmour feature more often, although at this stage of his career he is unlikely to be chosen ahead of Jorginho unless the Italy international leaves for Juventus this summer.