Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that he hopes captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will recover his world-class form this season
The Gabonese striker, now 32, was made famous in Borussia Dortmund and in early seasons at the Emirates for his speed and finishing. Last season he began to show signs of decline with his age.
Over a year ago, Aubameyang signed a huge £250,000 per week contract at Arsenal and his goalscoring prowess seemed to disappear. It does not help that this dip in form coincided with the Gunners’ worst league finish in 25 years.
In the entire season, playing mainly on the wing but also as a striker, he scored 10 goals and got three assists. This tally is even worse than his first season at the club where he joined them in the January transfer window, that year he scored 10 and assisted four.
Speaking at a press conference, Arteta was asked about his captain’s current slump in form:
“I don’t know – last season and everything that happened individually, collectively around the club for everybody, it was difficult to measure if that’s a trend or a one-off.”
All behind you @auba !!
Lets get the season going with a bang! pic.twitter.com/jbR9FbVmnU
— DA EDITS (@DannyAllen86) August 13, 2021
The main problems for the talismanic player were that he was not getting himself in goalscoring positions, only taking two shots every 90 minutes and his finishing was below par with a less than 20 percent conversion rate.
The manager still has confidence in his captain and will most likely be giving him a major role in their opening game of the season.
“Our job is to help the players get the best that they have, and we know that with [Aubameyang] we are stronger. He scores goals and that’s one of the most important things in this game,” added Arteta.
Arsenal will begin their Premier League resurgence tonight away to Brentford at 20:00.
I'd love the Aubameyang that did this to show up today. pic.twitter.com/pOU7qiV2JQ
— evan 》 (@afcevan) August 13, 2021
