“I thought they lost him a few months ago”
Gary Neville sang the praises of Arsenal captain and striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang following Arsenal’s North London Derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The forward scored the second in the Gunners’ 3-1 win as they cruised to a fourth straight victory in all competitions against their rivals who look in complete disarray.
Aubameyang’s future had been uncertain at the start of the campaign, with links to clubs including Barcelona following Arsenal’s failure to qualify for European football last season.
Sky Sports pundit Neville had been critical of the Gabon international’s form of late, however his display at the Emirates Stadium saw the former Manchester United full-back change his tune.
Speaking on his self-titled podcast, Neville highlighted the impact the striker had made on his fellow teammates. He said: “Before this game today, when you saw that team come through and you saw the three young ones behind Aubameyang.
“I thought they’d lost him (Aubameyang) a few months ago, I thought he doesn’t look like he wants to be here anymore. But today it was really interesting because I thought from the first minute he set the tone as a striker with the speed of his pressing and the young ones in behind really did well.”
After signing a new deal before the start of last season, the 32-year-old was a shining light in a struggling team, scoring 15 times, but after a slower start to this campaign, Aubameyang has proved to manager Mikel Arteta that he is more than capable of playing a role in the Arsenal revival.
The Gunners now find themselves in the top half of the table after Sunday’s win, moving above Spurs in the process and could find themselves in the top six should they beat Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.
Related links:
- Aubameyang wants kids to follow in the footsteps of Emile Smith Rowe
- Graeme Souness tears into Tottenham after embarrassing derby defeat
- Graeme Souness hammers Spurs’ ‘non-existent’ midfield in humiliating derby defeat
