Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a word – Prolific

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was named Arsenal’s October Player of the Month. In a word, the centre-forward is absolutely prolific.

Arsenal have been in a wonderful run of form. 14 games unbeaten in all competitions, eight of nine of which have come in the Premier League, a seven-win league run through September and October, and qualification into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup and all-but winning the Europa League group.

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There were plenty of players that could have won the October Player of the Month award, including snappy midfielder Lucas Torreira, the masterful Mesut Ozil and burgeoning Alex Iwobi. But after voting concluded this week, it was announced that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been named the club’s October Player of the Month.

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Aubameyang was rewarded for his goalscoring. In all honesty, he didn’t really offer all that much beyond making the net ripple. But when he does it with the consistency and frequency that he does, you don’t need him to provide anything else. The goals that he scores make him invaluable, irrespective of what other elements he provides. And in October, Aubameyang was absolutely clinical.

The Gabonian scored five goals in all competitions in October, more than any other player in the squad. But what is more impressive is that he did so only playing 225 minutes out of a possible 540. Remarkably, he scored a goal every 55 minutes. And while it would be easy to attribute such a rich vein of form to merely being Aubameyang enjoying a purple patch, these are numbers that he does consistently attain — admittedly not at the same extreme level, but he has always scored goals at a very impressive rate.

Since his arrival in north London in January, only Mohamed Salah has scored more goals than Aubameyang. And only Sergio Aguero has a better goals-per-minute ratio than Aubameyang during that time. In the Premier League, both last season and this season, Aubameyang has scored 17 goals in 1,825 minutes, yielding a goal every 107.35 minutes.

That is an illustration of his natural goalscoring ability. Taking just this season, Aubameyang has averaged a goal every 109.57 minutes. Of players that have scored five or more goals, only Anthony Martial and Eden Hazard have a better goals-per-minute ratio. The stats prove it: Aubameyang is one of the best goalscorers in the world.

To describe in a word, very simply, he is prolific. He does not get involved in general play all that often. He is not especially creative. He is not actually that clinical in front of goal, notorious for missing chances, relying on the volume of opportunities through the sharpness and anticipation of his movement, not the ruthlessness of his shooting. He just knows how to score goals at a sensational rate.

That kind of player is invaluable. Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in football. There are few teams in the world that are not looking for a goalscorer. And in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal have one of the best.