Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang building for the future

Arsenal brought in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to inject the present, but now that that has passed, he is building himself a future at the club.

It’s no secret why Arsenal ran out and uncharacteristically nabbed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January. Arsene Wenger and the club were desperate to make one last push into improvement, which would mean qualifying for the Champions League the traditional way – finishing in the top four.

This was made more obvious by the fact that they sold Olivier Giroud, who was Europa League eligible. Wenger wanted top four more than he wanted the Europa League.

It all fell apart. Aubameyang’s introduction wasn’t enough to lift the Gunners to the places they needed to be in the table and it quickly became apparent that the present uses for Aubameyang amounted to nothing beyond personal accomplishment.

He wasted no time in that department, scoring goals quicker than any other new Arsenal man ever has. It was a fantastic introduction to life at the club despite the lack of immediate implication. But it was the underlying actions that started to shine.

There was a lot of questions revolving around Aubameyang’s character, and the way he treated Borussia Dortmund as he pushed for an exit. Of course, this lead to at least a bit of hesitation on the Arsenal end, as they had dealt with a similar situation in Alexis Sanchez.

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But rather than get caught up on what didn’t happen this season, Aubameyang has instead been proving just how unselfish he is. He’s been more concerned with individual matches and the immediate success of the team, despite a bigger picture narrative, and he has been passing up chances to glorify himself in attempts to set up team mates.

The first was obviously against Stoke City when he passed up the chance at a hat-trick via a penalty and instead allowed a flustered Alexandre Lacazette to get his first goal in months.

Then, against Burnley, in a match that was going so swimmingly for him and could have given him an added highlight on Arsene Wenger’s big day, he passed up the chance at a hat trick again in an attempt to set up Danny Welbeck.

This selflessness is not the mark of someone who is only in it for himself (obviously). It is the mark of someone who is in this for the long haul. He would rather combine with his teammates than pad his own stats.

Next: Arsenal vs Burnley Highlights, Recap and Analysis

That says it all. And it says a lot about the cornerstones this club has to build around going into next season.

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