Arsenal ace Bukayo Saka has shed light on the kind of demands former team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would set him during their shared time at the Emirates before the latter departed.
Saka has arguably been the Gunners’ standout performer in what has been an incredible season for the club so far, netting 12 goals and registering 10 assists in the league alone this term. The England international’s rise from the Arsenal academy set-up has been nothing short of sensational and the Gunners faithful may have their former captain to thank for his part in Saka’s development.
“Every time I played with him I’ve always had so much confidence,” Saka told beIN Sports in March 2021. “Sometimes he would tell you, you would have to pass to him and if you make a mistake then he can be quite angry.
“But the game where I scored my first goal for Arsenal against [Eintracht] Frankfurt [in September 2019], before the game he said to me, ‘Bukayo, you know you’re very good player. If you’re there in front of goal and you want to shoot – shoot. I’m not going to say anything.’ My parents love him so much as well.”
Aubameyang was a hero among the Arsenal faithful in his own right after a four-year spell at the club littered with goals and a FA Cup triumph. The Gabon international almost single-handedly guided the Gunners to the trophy in 2020, scoring all four goals from the semi-final stage onwards.
In 163 outings, Aubameyang recorded 92 goals and 21 assists. He left under a cloud after falling out with boss Mikel Arteta but didn’t truly burn all his bridges in the red half of north London until nearly a year later.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has previously spoken very highly of former teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Initially, the forward departed for Barcelona but just nine months later found himself back in the capital – only this time donning the blue of Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea.
Aubameyang has already found himself playing under three different managers since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in August of last year.
It has been a turbulent first season in west London for the 33-year-old, one that has seen plenty of speculation touting him with a Chelsea exit after he was not registered to play in the Blues’ Champions League squad.
As for Saka, he has the chance to help guide Arsenal to their first league title in 19 years but will have to fend off the might of Manchester City to do so.
“As players, we really want to do this,” Saka confessed while discussing the title race. “We know that everything is in our hands and we just have to keep going game by game.
“If we win these last eight games and get some good results, the title can be ours, so we just have to stay focused. It’s a long season and we have to be consistent all the way through, so that’s what we’ll try to do.”
