Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is his barometer for success after he joined the Gunners for a club record fee reported to be £56 million (Rs 504 crore) from Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old Gabon striker, who scored 141 goals for Dortmund since moving there in 2013, signed a contract with the Gunners until 2021. Aubameyang said Henry, who scored 174 goals in 254 appearances for the Gunners in his first spell there and won the Premier League title in 2002 and 2004 – when the “Invincibles” won the league unbeaten all season – was the example to follow on his Arsenal adventure.
“I think the club has such a big history and great players like Thierry Henry,” Aubameyang told the club website shortly after putting open to paper on his contract. “He’s an example for us strikers.”
Aubameyang, whose arrival will likely see the departure of fellow striker Frenchman Olivier Giroud after six years at Arsenal, said Henry’s pace was what gave him his edge over his peers.
“I’m a fast player and I score goals too, like Henry a little bit,” said Aubameyang. “But as I said, I have to work a lot more.”
The move sees Aubameyang reunited with former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who joined Arsenal as part of the deal that took Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United earlier this month. His transfer fee outstrips the £46.5 million that Arsenal paid for French striker Alexandre Lacazette last August. Aubameyang’s arrival is likely to lead to the departure of veteran marksman Olivier Giroud.
“Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has joined us from Borussia Dortmund on a long-term contract for a club-record fee,” the statement from Arsenal said. The club described him as “one of the world’s most highly-rated strikers”.
“He scored 98 goals in 144 Bundesliga games for Dortmund and had a hand in 172 goals in 213 matches in all competitions for his former club. That works out at an average of 96 minutes per goal or assist. Auba is the Gabon captain and all-time top goalscorer, and became the first Gabonese winner of the African Footballer of the Year award in 2015.”
- Inputs from AFP
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