Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been really underwhelming this season for the Gunners but manager Mikel Arteta is hopeful that his forward will come good on Thursday.
The Gabon international has netted only 15 goals across all competitions this campaign and over the past couple of months, he has been in and out of the first-team squad for a number of different reasons.
But despite the lack of constant game time, Mikel Arteta is pretty confident that Aubameyang will be able to rise to the occasion in the semi-final vs Villarreal.
“My job, my responsibility, is to protect our players and try to get the maximum out of them,” the manager said told the press.
“We know certain things that the outside world doesn’t know.
“They can comment but sometimes without knowing all the details, which is a little bit unfair for the people. We make decisions that sometimes people are judging but without really knowing the detail. That criticism is part of our job.
“Auba played well and he felt much better than the days before [Sunday]. Obviously, scoring a goal is really important for him as well, so he’s in a good place.
“This game always gives you another opportunity. If you are there, then you are ready for the taking. He can turn things around really quickly so hopefully we can see that tomorrow.”
Aubameyang has missed a lot of games this year and even in the first leg, the forward managed to feature for only five minutes towards the end of the match.
But his performance against Newcastle United is sure to give Mikel Arteta a lot of hope going into this crucial second leg.
Lacazette is already missing with an injury(and might not be fit to play this week) while players like Nicolas Pepe and Odegaard are nowhere near their peak form. So if Arsenal want to overcome the 2-1 deficit from the first leg and qualify for the final then Aubameyang will have to pull up his socks and deliver a captain’s performances on Thursday.
