Yahoo Finance Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ‘hungry’ to deliver another season-saving salvo after toughest year
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has to cast his mind back a long way to remember experiencing a season as difficult as this one.
It has certainly been his most challenging campaign since joining Arsenal in 2018 from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of £56million.
After arriving that January, he raced to 10 goals in 14 games. This season, despite having played 21 more matches, he has managed just 15 ahead of tonight’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Villarreal.
“I had some really bad seasons at the beginning of my career, it was not easy as well,” said Aubameyang. “But definitely over the past few years, this has been the most difficult.
“I know it has been a really tough year because I had some issues on and off the pitch. But I’m feeling confident for the end of the season and in my mind I’m hungry.”
When you consider the off-field issues Aubameyang has had to deal with, it is easy to understand how they could have impacted his performances.
He was given time off by Arsenal earlier this year to be with his ill mother, who has now recovered, while Aubameyang himself was struck down with malaria only last month.
Aubameyang contracted the disease while on international duty with Gabon and it resulted in him losing four kilograms and spending three days in hospital.
“This was the worst moment of being sick in my life because it was really hard,” he said. “I had three days in a row, fever, all day and all night, non-stop.
“It was a really bad moment and I think my family was a bit scared to see me like this. I am lucky that we took it in the end at the right moment because sometimes with malaria, if you don’t treat it quickly, you can have some big problems.”
Aubameyang says he now feels around “90 per cent” as he recovers, declaring himself ready to start tonight against Villarreal.
And, while this may have been an exceptionally challenging season, the semi-final second leg provides him with the chance to swiftly change the narrative as Arsenal look to overturn a 2-1 deficit.
“Of course, I want to give more because I know myself that I am capable of doing it. I have to give something back to the club, to the fans,” said Aubameyang.
“They are waiting for something from me, so it is the right moment to show them that I am capable of doing it.”
Now would be the ideal moment for Aubameyang to deliver as Arsenal look to knock out Unai Emery’s Villarreal and, most likely, join Manchester United in the Europa League final.
Emery still considers his side underdogs for the tie, despite winning the first leg, and he is also well aware of the threat Aubameyang poses.
“Aubameyang is a killer,” he said. “He was, he is and he will always be.”
Emery knows that first hand as, when he was in charge of Arsenal, Aubameyang scored a brilliant hat-trick against Valencia in the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Aubameyang considers that his best performance in an Arsenal shirt and, if he were able to recreate those heroics tonight, the captain could save his side’s season.
He certainly did that last year, scoring all of Arsenal’s goals to beat Manchester City and Chelsea in the semi-finals and final of the FA Cup.
“I think I was really motivated in these types of games because a few times I receive some criticism about not being involved in big games,” he said.
“So I wanted to show people it is not true and this is why I am really, really excited to play this game tonight, it is a big game and a big moment for all of us so hopefully I will deliver again.”
Delivering on the biggest stage is all part of Aubameyang’s love for the limelight and, if ever there was a player who has missed playing in front of crowds, it is the Arsenal captain.
Now, though, he has the perfect opportunity to be the main man once again, at a time when his team needs him to deliver more than ever.
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