“It is genius” – Aubameyang earns Mourinho praise while setting new Arsenal record
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s winning goal against Newcastle United on Sunday took him to 33 goals in 50 Premier League appearances for Arsenal.
Aubameyang’s strike rate during his time in north London is faster than the likes of Thierry Henry and Ian Wright, while it has also drewn him level with Fernando Torres among Premier League strikers as a whole.
Aubameyang’s “genius”: Five key things to know…
- Aubameyang scored 22 Premier League goals last season.
- That total helped him share the Golden Boot with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
- He scored his 33rd Premier League goal in 50 appearances on Sunday.
- His winning strike against Newcastle makes him the most prolific Arsenal player in 50 PL games.
- It also drew praise from Mourinho, who described his first touch as “genius”.
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The Gabonese striker peeled off the Newcastle defence before calmly controlling an Ainsley Maitland-Niles pass and dinking a finish over the top of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
And the quality of Aubameyang’s first touch drew praise from former Chelsea and Man Utd boss, Jose Mourinho, who was watching on as a pundit in the Sky Sports studio.
“Simplicity is genius,” he said. “That control looks simple, but it is not simple – it is genius.”
Fellow pundit Graeme Souness added: “Aubameyang made that finish look very easy. He made a difficult finish look easy, which is the mark of a very good striker.”
Aubameyang, one of three Premier League Golden Boot winners last season alongside Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, stressed the importance of Arsenal – who spent big in the transfer window in a bid to make a Champions League return – getting off to a winning start this season.
Most goals after 50 Premier League games:
Alan Shearer (41)
Andrew Cole (41)
Mohamed Salah (35)
Kevin Phillips (34)
Fernando Torres (33)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (33)Not a bad list to be a part of. https://t.co/GEHUXet2zh
— Squawka (@Squawka) August 11, 2019
“We fought today a lot. It was a great game against a good team,” he told reporters. “It was important to start with a win, last season we started bad, so we are happy.
“It is always positive for all the squad to win the first game, everyone is happy to get three points and we’re looking forward to winning more games.”
Arsenal host Burnley at the Emirates on Saturday as Unai Emery’s men look to make it two out of two for 2019/20.
