Arsenal: Is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang getting even better?

Arsenal have been treated to a show by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyan all year, but is it possible that the hitman is getting even better?

Arsenal needed someone to step up against Valencia, and they got what they asked for. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has been fairly reliable in the goals department all year, went above and beyond, creating the goals that he scored, going beyond just the typical tap-in.

He also did a tremendous job getting back and defending, doing all the dirty work we aren’t used to seeing from him. From whistle to whistle, his work ethic did not change.

But no matter what he does outside of scoring goals, it’s always going to be the goals that he’s here for and, by extension, that we’re here for. He’s our first Golden Boot contender in years and it always feels like at least a mild disappointment when he doesn’t score a goal.

I mentioned after Valencia that you will never see Aubameyang any better than he was in that match, and I stand by that statement.

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Now, though, I have to ask if he might actually be getting better, especially including Burnley in this mix.

Frankly, I thought it improbable. A goal poacher has one explicit job, and when he does it as well as Aubameyang does it, it’s hard to get much better. He’s one of the top scorers in the best league in the world.

That said, he just did two things he’s never done before, both against Valencia. We all know he scored his first Arsenal hat trick, which is remarkable to think that it’s only the first, but he also, for the first time this season, scored a goal in three consecutive games. Add in Burnley and it was four consecutive games, obviously also a first.

Again, another thing that you wouldn’t expect to have only now happened, but something that, now that it has happened, is something that would change our fortunes if it could happen all the more often.

Aubameyang is no stranger to quick ups and downs, especially in the goal department, as he often missed the score sheet two matches in a row, but his goals also come in bursts, and that’s been a general theme of his time here at the Emirates. Four goals in two matches, three goals and an assist in two matches.

But never three in a row. Maybe it’s nothing but happenstance, but seeing him tick two boxes on his striker resume raises the stakes for what he’s capable of next season.