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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has returned to his best and praised the forward for getting angry with his recent drop in form.
The 31-year-old helped Arsenal into the Europa League round of 16 with a double, including a goal in the 87th minute, in Thursday’s 3-2 win over Benfica in Greece.
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Aubameyang apologized for missing several clear opportunities in last week’s first leg as he struggled with a recession that nationally saw him go two and a half months without scoring a Premier League goal.
That streak ended against Newcastle on January 18 and since then he has added a hat trick against Leeds and now a winning performance in Europe.
“Sometimes when you’re going through tough times, you can have those tough times and put yourself in a sad mode and I think that’s the worst thing you can do because no one has to feel sorry for themselves when you’re going through those times,” Arteta said. .
“What you have to do is get angry, get angry, work harder and tackle the situation and face it. Face the challenge in a way that generates more motivation and more hunger to do it and I think in the last few weeks I have seen that reaction.
“For example, in a training session before playing here [in Greece] He missed a penalty and was really upset. Instead of being sad, he got angry and I told the coaching staff that I like that and that tomorrow would be fine. When you have that mindset, I think it’s the right way to go about it. “
Arsenal trained in Greece on Friday morning before making the four-hour return flight before Sunday’s lunchtime trip to Leicester City.
When asked if Aubameyang, who has 13 goals in 26 matches in all competitions this season, was close to being back in top form, Arteta replied: “Yes, because he is moving into much better positions, his pace during the matches is much better with and without the ball, its movement.
“Last week when we played Benfica he had three great chances and I’m not worried about losing them because I know that if he gets in those positions he’s going to be scoring consistently, so this is what has to be demanded of himself. himself. If we have Auba in his prime, as a team we obviously have a much better chance of succeeding.
