Aubameyang is back, and not a second too soon

                                                Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Aubameyang is back among the goals for Arsenal, and not a second too soon

By Adam Le Roux

What’s that old saying? Form is temporary class is permanent? Well Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang certainly proved that to be true with an awesome display against Leeds United on Sunday afternoon.

The Gabonese star was back to his best against Marcelo Bielsa’s side, as he helped himself to a first Premier League hat-trick in the 4-2 victory at the Emirates.

A well-taken first wrong-footed Illan Meslier in the visitors’ goal to give Arsenal the lead, before he added another from the spot after the Leeds shot-stopper brought down Bukayo Saka in the penalty area.

Hector Bellerin belted in a third before the break, before Aubameyang capped off a marvellous individual and team performance by heading in Emile Smith Rowe’s centre two minutes after half-time.

After a slow start to this campaign, the former Borussia Dortmund man looks to be getting back into his groove, and with huge fixtures coming up, he couldn’t have timed it any better.

Auba is over his dreadful drought

As we approached Christmas time, a lot of Arsenal fans wouldn’t have thought that we would be here talking about Aubameyang’s goal glut of late, with the first half of the campaign a different story entirely.

The striker looked off the pace and down on his luck, with nothing seeming to go his way in the first few months of the season, as he found the back of the net just once from open play before December.

That goal was against Fulham on the opening day of the season, with a penalty at Old Trafford to defeat Manchester United his only other goalscoring contribution in the league before netting the equaliser against Southampton on December 16.

And as we reached the turn of the year, the Gunners would have been forgiven for wanting to turn their attention elsewhere in the hunt for firepower up top, as he looked a shadow of the player that won the Premier League Golden Boot back in 2019.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

But since the festive period the Arsenal captain has been a man revitalised, with an extra-time strike against Newcastle in the FA Cup helping him to start finding his goalscoring touch once again.

And he was at it once again when the Magpies came calling nine days later for a league clash, as he got a deserved brace in the 3-0 victory over Steve Bruce’s side, and we started to see the old Aubameyang once again; the one that could turn a game in an instant.

Since then he has looked as hungry as ever, as if his life depends on getting on the scoresheet every week, and his endeavour has lifted the rest of the team, as they know they can rely on their confident talisman up front.

And that point was proved on Sunday, with the 31-year-old single-handedly taking the game to the visitors and opening the scoring with a superb solo effort.

You could almost see the confidence oozing out of him as he marauded into the Leeds United penalty area, before unleashing an early strike into the bottom left-hand corner to give his side the lead.

An expertly despatched penalty then gave him his second, before he converted with his head to earn himself the match ball, with a performance that we have so rarely seen this season.

The third goal is the sort of moment that just wouldn’t have fallen that way earlier in the season, with Smith Rowe’s centre looking suspiciously like an errant shot, but it fell right into the path of Aubameyang who had the reflexes to convert past Meslier.

Perfect preparation for Benfica battle

That performance couldn’t have come at a better time for both player and club, with a massive week ahead for the club in the context of the season.

A huge Europa League last 32 clash with Benfica is on the horizon, and everyone will have to be on their game if they are to overcome the Portuguese side, who will be no pushovers in the two-legged affair.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Aubameyang’s goals have often proved so pivotal in European fixtures in the past, with his eight strikes in the 2018/19 season the springboard for Arsenal’s run to the Europa League final, until they ultimately went down 4-1 to Chelsea.

The pinnacle of that run was a hat-trick in the semi-final second leg against Valencia, which helped the Gunners book their ticket to the showpiece event in Baku.

Aubameyang is a player who turns it on when it comes to the biggest occasions, and we can expect him to raise his game for the trip to Lisbon.

It may be early days, but there already seems to be an added spark to Arsenal going forward with Martin Odegaard in the team, and the striker looks to be flourishing with the Norwegian alongside him.

Give them more time to gel on and off the pitch, and we could see the Gunners reap the rewards for the rest of the campaign, with that creative spark back and as bright as ever.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

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