Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang heads to London from Dortmund Airport as he prepares to seal £55m Arsenal move

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's £55million move to Arsenal edged closer on Tuesday after the Borussia Dortmund striker was spotted leaving Dortmund Airport.  

The Gabon international, who has been the subject of intense interest this month from the Gunners, was spotted gathering his belongings from a gold Range Rover before heading towards a back entrance. 

The 28-year-old forward then flew to Luton Airport on a private jet, accompanied by his father Pierre and his brothers Catilina and Willy, to finalise the move, which will see him become Arsenal's club-record signing.

After touching down in England, he headed to Arsenal's training ground and was spotted arriving at the London Colney base where he will undergo his medical.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (left) pictured at Dortmund Airport on Tuesday

The Dortmund forward, who was with his family, gathered his belongings from a Range Rover

The 28-year-old will be heading to London on Tuesday to finalise his stunning move

The Gabon striker withdrew on Monday from appearing as a witness at a court case of the man suspected of targeting Dortmund's bus with three bombs last April.

Officially, Aubameyang is sick and cannot attend and Dortmund have given him permission to stay away. 

And now it looks like his departure is imminent, with the Arsenal-bound forward part of a striker merry-go-round.

Aubameyang was seen with members of his family, who are joining him for the trip to London

The Arsenal target, wearing a black hooded-jumper, heads towards an entrance at the airport 

The £55m switch to the Emirates Stadium will see the striker become Arsenal's record signing

Arsenal's signing of Aubameyang will only be sanctioned once London rivals Chelsea secure Olivier Giroud and loan out Michy Batshuayi.

In a complicated chain of sale, Dortmund insist they will only sign off the 28-year-old Aubameyang's release once they have a replacement. They have targeted Batshuayi on loan and Chelsea will agree to that if they can sign Giroud.

On Monday, it looked as if Chelsea were using that to try to drive down the price for the Frenchman. Chelsea have offered £15m plus add-ons but are still short of the £30m valuation as the Gunners demand a premium price for selling to their London rivals.

Once a deal for Giroud is in place, Chelsea will allow Batshuayi to sign for Dortmund on loan, subsequently triggering Aubameyang's move to the Gunners.

Aubameyang, a controversial player, is drawing ever closer to a £55m transfer to Arsenal

The Gabon striker has been offered a three-and-a-half-year contract worth £180,000 a week

He will become the best-paid player in the club's history on a three-and-a-half-year contract worth £180,000 per week.

The move for the explosive striker has been driven by Arsenal's recently-appointed head of recruitment Sven Mislintat.

Aubameyang does not fit the usual profile of player the Gunners have tried to sign in recent years.

At 28, he is likely to have little resale value. Similarly, his bad-boy reputation represents a shift from the type of personality the club have targeted under Arsene Wenger.    

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored 141 goals in 212 appearances for Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea will attempt to complete the shock signing of Arsenal's Olivier Giroud on Tuesday