‘I prefer this Auba!’ – New-look Arsenal captain can transform Gunners into winners, says Arteta

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has taken “a step forward” in his role at Arsenal, says Mikel Arteta, who believes that the new-look forward can help the club recapture their winning mentality.

The Gunners captain proved instrumental to his side’s Premier League victory over Aston Villa last week, netting the second of their finishes in a 3-1 triumph at the Emirates Stadium.

It is a signal that the Gabon international has turned the page after a difficult campaign last term – and his manager says that he is delighted with his skipper’s increased visibility and leadership.

What has been said?

“I have never seen Auba transmit what he is doing now,” Arteta told the club’s official website. “Apart from the goals, the celebration when they put the ball in the net, do you see the way he runs?

“The purpose he has to press the ball, and […] how is leading the game. I prefer this Auba. For me it is a click. It is a combination that realising that his role has to go well beyond [what is was]. 

“He had to take a step forward. I would say the same with Laca [Alexandre Lacazette]. They lead by example and not only there but as well at the training ground.

Arteta hails elder statesman role

In addition to Aubameyang and Lacazette, the Spaniard further paid tribute to Thomas Partey, with the trio of them praised for how they can help the squad’s younger stars build their potential.

“The group age [of the squad] is a little bit closer so they are experiencing most of the same things and they talk a lot about it,” he added. 

“Then we have the senior players that they have to lead and they have to take that role, and they are doing that in a different way. 

“Leading is not telling someone what he needs to do, for me it is being able to transform that person and not just with words, but with facts as well. 

“There are players now that on that pitch that they are able to transmit something and change certain behaviours and attitudes in other players. That is contagious, and for me that is leadership.”

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