Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ready to claim another Arsenal legend’s record after surpassing Henry & Wright
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wrote his name into the Arsenal history books once more with a goal in the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Monday.
The Gabonese forward has been in fine form for Arsenal since signing from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018, becoming the prolific goalscorer the Gunners had been screaming out for.
Within his first year, Aubameyang became the fastest player to score 25 Premier League goals for the Gunners, reaching the feat after just 37 games. This saw him better Thierry Henry’s record by five, with Ian Wright further back, having achieved 25 in 51 games.
He then went on to score eight goals in his next 13 Premier League games for Arsenal, reaching 33 in 50 – another Gunners record – including a strike on his milestone appearance.
With Arsenal taking on Newcastle United, Aubameyang peeled off the Magpies defence before calmly controlling Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ pass and lifting the ball over Martin Dubravka. His goal left those watching in awe, with former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho praising the striker.
“Simplicity is genius,” he said. “That control looks simple, but it is not simple – it is genius.”
Aubameyang’s goalscoring form has also brought praise from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who insists the 30-year-old has “no real weaknesses” after working with him at Borussia Dortmund.
“It is four years since I worked with him,” he said leading up to Arsenal’s game against Liverpool.
“Everybody knows everything about everybody, that is how it is and there are no surprises.
“Auba has actually no real weaknesses apart from his fashion style. When we played them so far, we could kind of defend him but it is never possible to do it 100 per cent properly because of the speed he has. It’s just difficult.”
Not content on breaking the records of Henry and Wright, Aubameyang’s goal against Manchester United was his seventh in seven games at the start of the 2019/20 campaign – becoming the first Arsenal player to achieve that feat since Dennis Bergkamp did so in 1997/98.
The Dutch legend went on to extend his run to eight in eight, meaning Aubameyang could break his record with a brace at the weekend against Bournemouth, while Bergkamp’s 10 in 10 is also an achievable goal for the Gabon striker.
Should he reach that with goals against Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace, Aubameyang may fancy his chances of breaking Arsenal’s club record for most goals in a Premier League season. Henry (2003/04) and Robin van Persie (2011/12) currently hold the record with 30 goals, while Aubameyang’s first full season with Arsenal saw him grab 22.
Since his Premier League debut on February 3, 2018, no player has scored more goals than Aubameyang’s 39 in the competition, with only Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah matching his tally – though the Egyptian has played 519 more minutes.
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