Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed a new three-year deal with the Premier League club.
The announcement on Tuesday puts an end to months of speculation over his potential exit as the attacker entered the final year of his contract.
Aubameyang's decision to stay with the Gunners will be a major boost to manager Mikel Arteta who said he wanted to build the squad around the Gabon international after they defeated Chelsea last month to win the FA Cup.
Arteta recently told fans to "relax" as he grew increasingly confident that a deal would be struck between the club and the man who has finished as their top scorer in his two full seasons in north London.
"Arsenal fans, finally as you know I just signed the thing," he said in a live Instagram stream from the Emirates Stadium.
Over 109,000 people were watching the stream via the official Arsenal account, with Aubameyang adding: "I signed the thing because I want to become an Arsenal legend, maybe leave a legacy, it is the time to work a lot.
"For sure, I will give my best, as always, so yes, I have just signed the thing. Hopefully you are happy and I can't wait to see you in this beautiful stadium again."
He was then joined on the call by former Arsenal striker Ian Wright and his current team-mate Alexandre Lacazette, who praised his decision to sign the contract.
Aubameyang moved to Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 – for a then-club record fee of £56 million (Dh264.5m).
He has since gone on to score 72 goals across 111 games in all competitions, including the last in Saturday's 3-0 Premier League opening day victory at Fulham.
He has now committed to a further three years with the club and Arteta was pleased to get the deal sorted.
"It was important for Pierre-Emerick to stay with us," he said. "He's a superb player with an incredible mentality. Being the player to have taken the least amount of time to reach 50 goals with this club tells you everything you need to know about him and his way of working."
British media were reporting that Aubameyang's deal sees his earnings jump to £250,000-a-week but including bonuses could take it beyond the £350,000-a-week paid to highest earner Mesut Ozil.
The 2015 African Footballer of the Year was made captain in November after Arteta's predecessor Unai Emery stripped midfielder Granit Xhaka of the role.
This summer Arsenal have signed Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes for £23m) from Lille, brought in former Chelsea winger Willian on a free transfer and re-signed Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid.
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Player ratings for Arsenal's win at Fulham
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FULHAM RATINGS: Marek Rodak – 6. Couldn’t do much about any of the goals and produced a few strong saves to avoid a complete rout. PA -
Denis Odoi – 5. Was given a thorough run around up against Arsenal’s quick attacks. To be fair, containing Aubameyang is as tough as it gets for full backs. AFP -
Michael Hector – 4. Inexcusably bad defending at the corner that led to Gabriel’s goal. Getty Images -
Tim Ream – 5. Made a mess of an attempted clearance that resulted in Lacazette’s opening goal. Reuters -
Joe Bryan – 6. Like the rest of the Fulham defence, was under constant pressure from Arsenal’s forwards but stuck to his task. AFP -
Harrison Reed – 5. Couldn’t get a foothold in the game in his first Premier League appearance as a permanent Fulham player.AP -
Tom Cairney – 5. Fulham’s captain made little impact on the match. Reuters -
Neeskens Kebano – 5. Named after the great Johan Neeskens but this was not a performance the Dutch midfielder would’ve been proud of. AFP -
Josh Onomah – 5. Took fewer touches than Arsenal goalkeeper Leno, who had little to do all game. Says it all about his contribution. EPA -
Ivan Cavaleiro – 6. Looked like he could cause a few problems based on the first few minutes but faded fast. AP -
Aboubakar Kamara – 6. Full of running but starved of service in a game where Fulham rarely troubled Arsenal in the final third. EPA -
SUBS: Aleksandar Mitrovic (63’) – 7. Fulham’s liveliest player and tried to force chances. Might have caused trouble if he had more time on the pitch. AFP -
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (63’) – 5. Such was his impact, the only available photo was this one of him behind Ceballos. AP -
Bobby Reid (75’) – 5. Game was already lost when he came on. Getty Images -
ARSENAL RATINGS: Bernd Leno – 7. Days won’t come much easier than this. Was involved so little that pitchside photographers didn’t bother taking any action shots of the German goalkeeper. Reuters -
Rob Holding – 7. A composed and assured performance. Looks to have won over Mikel Arteta. AFP -
Gabriel – 8. Super debut for the Brazilian, tucking home a header for Arsenal’s second and kept a clean sheet. Reuters -
Kieran Tierney – 7. Got forward, always offered an outlet on the left flank, and handled his defensive duties well. EPA -
Hector Bellerin – 6. A solid performance from the Spaniard. Docked a point for a ridiculous rugby tackle. Reuters -
Mohamed Elneny – 7. A comfortable afternoon back in the Arsenal midfield for the Egyptian. Getty Images -
Granit Xhaka – 6. Is there a footballer on Earth who loves a sideways pass more than the Swiss? AP -
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 6. A lively start and kept running at Fulham’s full-backs but didn’t offer much end product. AP -
Willian – 9. Almost scored a marvellous debut goal only for his free-kick to hit the post. Still produced a hat-trick of assists, though. A fine debut from the Brazilian. EPA -
Alexandre Lacazette – 7. Scored Arsenal’s first goal of the season and they won’t come any simpler than this tap-in. Had a few other chances he perhaps could’ve done better with. Reuters -
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 8. Scored the third with a fine, curling finish into the top corner. Was a constant menace. EPA -
SUBS: Nicolas Pepe (76’) – 6. Tried to impact the game by getting in behind the Fulham backline but ultimately made little contribution. Getty Images -
Dani Ceballos (79’) – 7. Only on the pitch for 11 minutes but still displayed his class. Fulham will be grateful the Spaniard didn’t start. AFP -
Eddie Nketiah (87’) – N/A. Little time to make any difference. Getty Images
