AUBA IS A TRUE GREAT
His striker is yet to win a major trophy but Arteta insists...
MIKEL ARTETA has told Pierreemerick Aubameyang that his status as one of the great goalscorers of the modern era is safe regardless of his trophy haul.
Arteta summoned the name of tottenham’s Harry kane as an example of a striker who is widely acclaimed but has not yet won a major title.
And the Arsenal manager does not hesitate to put Aubameyang firmly in the same bracket as kane or Sergio Aguero, with whom he worked closely at Manchester City.
‘Auba is right there with the best,’ said Arteta. ‘in the last 10 years if you look at his record and what he’s done in the game, it’s phenomenal.
‘there are a lot of good players who do phenomenally well, but unfortunately there are a lot of top teams in this country and only one wins the league.
‘Harry kane has scored 30 goals and has never won the Premier league, you know. You can’t have everything in life. With top players who are playing at clubs winning constantly there is more impact, but we all know how good Auba is.
‘it is remarkable how consistent he has been over the years. We all appreciate his value and what he brings to us.’
Aubameyang, who shared the Premier league Golden Boot last season with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, all on 22 goals, is top of the charts again this season, level with Jamie Vardy on 17.
Arsenal are fighting to convince him to extend his contract which expires next year and stay in north london despite interest from Barcelona.
He is 30 years old and keen to test himself in the Champions league. His european football has been confined to the europa league since he moved from Borussia Dortmund for £56million in 2018.
He has lost in two finals with Arsenal and is still searching for his first trophy since winning the German Cup with Dortmund in 2017.
‘in the long term, if you lose him, the impact is obvious,’ said Arteta as he prepared for the europa league tie against Olympiacos tonight.
‘it is very difficult to replace a player of that calibre. Hopefully we can keep him and we don’t have that issue to resolve.’