Arsenal: Record-breaking Aubameyang setting himself up perfectly

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has enjoyed a record-breaking start to his Arsenal career, adding another goal in Sunday’s win against Southampton. He is setting himself up perfectly.

The signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was an astonishing one. He is the exact type of player that you wouldn’t expect Arsenal to sign. Flashy, pricey, well into his prime. He just isn’t their typical target. And then when you factor in that they had broken their club transfer record just six months prior on Alexandre Lacazette, and it becomes all the more baffling.

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All that being said, here he is. And after a couple of months in his new surroundings, it’s fair to say that he is having quite the impact. Yes, Aubameyang is breaking records in the short time that he has been here. He is setting himself up perfectly for the coming years.

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The striker has made seven Premier League starts. He has scored six goals in those eight games, including five in his last four, and has failed to score in only two of those seven games. Additionally, after his crucial goal in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Southampton, he has now had a direct hand in seven goals in the league. No player in Arsenal history has been directly involved in that many goals in his first seven league matches.

More than just scoring and assisting a vast number of goals, though, Aubameyang is doing it at an almighty rate. Only four players have more goals per 90 minutes this season. Of those four players, Alexandr Mitrovic and Henri Saivet have played a combined 182 minutes of Premier League football — they are only ranked so highly because they are benefitting from the anomalies that a small sample size produces.

Of players who have played meaningful minutes, only Mohamed Salah, at 1.06 goals per 90 minutes, and Sergio Aguero, at 0.96 goals per 90 minutes, rank higher than Aubameyang, who is currently at 0.89 goals per 90 minutes. That is higher than Charlie Austin [0.86], Harry Kane [0.85], and Raheem Sterling [0.67].

There is still, obviously, a long way to go. Aubameyang has only played in 610 minutes of football this season. He is hardly a seasoned-veteran who has maintained this level of scoring for several years like, say, Kane or Aguero. But given his prolificacy at Dortmund and the speed of his scoring thus far in north London, it would be remiss to suggest that he cannot at least continue to score a good number of goals for the club.

For £56 million, that is precisely what is expected of him. Aubameyang came to the Emirates with a reputation as one of the best goal scorers in world football. Early indications suggest that he is vindicating that reputation, which is only a good thing for his future.

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Aubameyang is setting himself up perfectly for the coming seasons. The only problem? The inevitable rumours of a Real-Madrid-shaped departure.