Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang raised eyebrows when he compared himself to Thierry Henry and it was a remark that has since backfired in spectacular fashion for the Gabon international.
Not since Mesut Ozil had an Arsenal signing garnered such excitement and anticipation among the Gunners faithful like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Arriving at the back end of the January transfer window in 2018, Aubameyang rocked up at the Emirates with a huge reputation having been firing in goals at a rapid rate for Borussia Dortmund. The Gabon international spent his time in Germany going toe-to-toe with Robert Lewandowski for the Golden Boot award, so Arsenal landing his signature felt like a statement of intent.
Aubameyang was the final signing of Arsene Wenger’s illustrious 22-year reign in charge and shortly after his signing was confirmed, he was quick to liken himself to a player who was arguably Wenger’s best signing; Thierry Henry.
In his very first interview as an Arsenal player, Aubameyang boldly compared himself to the iconic Frenchman while explaining why the Gunners appealed to him.
“I think the club has such a big history and great players like Thierry Henry,” he told A rsenal.com. “He’s an example for us strikers. I’m really happy, like I said before.
“He was fast and scored a lot of goals. He’s really an example. I’m a fast player and I score goals too, like Henry a little bit. But as I said, I have to work a lot more.”
It was certainly a bold strategy to mention himself in the same breath as Arsenal’s record goalscorer, but for a while, many may have seen where he was coming from.
Aubameyang’s Arsenal career got off to a flyer, with a debut goal against Everton kicking things off. The former Dortmund ace managed to bag 10 goals for the Gunners in the 2017/18 league season, which is a stellar tally considering he didn’t make his first appearance until early February.
Under the guidance of Unai Emery, Aubameyang continued to shine in the 2019/19 campaign and though the Gunners narrowly missed out on Champions League football, their talisman shared the Golden Boot award with Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at the end of the season.
Much like Henry was, Aubameyang was a man for the big occasion in Emery’s only full season in charge. The forward bagged goals against the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United.
