PRINCE WILLIAM cheekily tried to lure Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to his side Aston Villa while on a Zoom call with Gunners stars.
The Duke of Cambridge was chatting with players and staff about the importance of mental health care and found the time to slip in a tongue-in-cheek comment surrounding the Gabon striker’s future.
Prince William was on the line to boss Mikel Arteta, former player and manager of the academy Per Mertesacker, captain Aubameyang and Spanish speedster Hector Bellerin.
He said: “Pierre, I’m hoping you’ll be at Aston Villa.”
The probing comment caused plenty of laughter from everyone who had dialled in but Arteta showed his desire to keep hold of his talisman by wagging his finger on the screen in disapproval.
The Duke added: “We’ll have a word later.”
Aubameyang has just one year remaining on his deal in North London and has been linked with moves to Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona but the Gunners hope he will stay.
The future King is famed for his support of Villa and is regularly spotted cheering on his side from the stands and donning the claret and blue.
Despite the joking, a serious matter was the topic of discussion as Prince William explained the plans for this year’s FA Cup final.
The Duke leads the mental health campaign Heads Up and this season’s showpiece will be known as the The Heads Up FA Cup Final after sponsors Emirates donated their title rights.
It will be contested at Wembley on August 1, one year after the campaign was started to remove the stigma around mental health.
Prince William said: “Renaming the FA Cup in this way, with millions around the world watching, is our way to help stimulate this discussion.
“We’re going to really use the final as a moment to promote good, positive mental health for everyone. It’s quite timely bearing in mind what we’ve all been through with this pandemic.
“I think there’s going to be, sadly, a lot of repercussions from this in society, not just in football, in terms of people’s mental health. Hopefully the FA Cup can be a bit of a pivot that people can rally around.”
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