The 32-year-old forward struggled last season and ended up scoring just 10 goals. So far he has scored four goals in the new campaign
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed his happiness at seeing striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang return to form.
Last season, the 32-year-old Gabon international did not enjoy his best spell in North London as he managed to score only 10 goals in the Premier League.
In contrast to last season, this campaign he has already scored four goals from eight appearances and Arteta admits Aubameyang is thriving as captain of Arsenal’s young side following conversations he held with him in the summer.
“Obviously when you have a season whereas a team and individually we haven’t fulfilled our expectations, we have to find the reasons why,” explained Arteta as quoted by Daily Mail.
“How we can change, how we can improve, how we can help him to improve certain things that are going to have a huge impact on the team.
“He’s been so willing to lead from the start and I’m so pleased because his role is different to the one that he had two or three years ago. Now he needs to lead in every sense and he’s doing that and I’m really happy with it.
“I think he is enjoying it and as you can see on the pitch, he is playing with a smile on his face. He is transmitting energy, passion, willingness – not only on the pitch but outside the pitch as well.
“That’s what we want. A happy Auba is linked with his character and that’s what he’s able to transmit to everybody. That energy is always positive for the team.”
In a recent interview, former Arsenal defender Gael Clichy described the skipper in glowing terms.
“The striker position is a very difficult one because only if you are [Lionel] Messi or [Cristiano] Ronaldo can you take the ball from your own half and dribble past five or six players and score,” Clichy said.
“You always need your teammates around as a striker. Obviously, his form wasn’t great because you need to score goals as a striker.
“I am happy for him because he is a great guy and he has got quality and he is only outnumbered by Salah who is in top form and is probably one of the best players in Europe right now. That speaks for itself.
“Arsenal will need Aubameyang scoring a lot of goals to have a great season. But again, it’s important that you keep your players in the right position and Aubameyang offers you so much when he’s down the middle rather than on the wings.”
Aubameyang will hope to lead the line when Arsenal take on Leicester City in a Premier League match at King Power Stadium on Saturday.
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