Aubameyang was finally allowed to join Barcelona during the January transfer window and at the back of some poor form, many people thought the Gabon international’s career was finished.
The forward had scored only four goals in 14 Premier League games this season so it made perfect sense to let him leave and clear a significant amount from the wage bills. The table though seems to have turned as Aubameyang is back to his prime form in Spain.
The 32-year-old has already netted five goals in six games for Barcelona and it’s pretty evident that Auba is enjoying his life at Camp Nou.
Many experts have now come out to suggest that letting Aubameyang leave might have been a bad idea but according to Rio Ferdinand, the transfer has worked out well for both parties.
Ferdinand said, as reported: “I just feel he looks happy again. I saw him at Arsenal for a number of months where he just didn’t look happy.
“People undervalue and underestimate how important your happiness is when you’re a footballer or any job that you’ve got you’ve got to have that element of happiness and fulfillment and he just wasn’t having that at Arsenal. Both have benefited from him leaving.
Another goal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
He's flying at Barcelona 🦇 pic.twitter.com/0BZNYgslOc
— GOAL (@goal) February 27, 2022
“Arteta has got even more of a stranglehold on the squad, more respect, they know where they stand now, there’s a line that they don’t go beyond, we don’t know the details of that.
“But also Aubameyang has gained, he’s got some love back, he’s got some attention he’s some belief back from a manager that’s driven that into him by a manager who really wants him to be there and appreciates his footballing ability. Nobody has doubted the rate at which he’s always scored goals in his career.”
Mikel Arteta has been managing with an iron fist since his arrival and the fact that he has sold a player like Aubameyang means he has a blueprint of what he wants to do.
5️⃣ goals in 6️⃣ games
A goal every 77 minutes… 🤯
⚡️ @Auba
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 28, 2022
Some say Arteta was not happy with Auba’s dedication which is why the forward had fallen down the pecking order in the previous months. This is another indication that the manager is making it clear that all players inside the dressing room have the same importance and there is no superstar tag.
With Aubameyang in the side, Lacazette was not getting proper game time which meant Arsenal were not scoring goals. But now that the Gabon international has left, Lacazette is getting a lot more game time so he’s playing some fine football. The Frenchman might be leaving as a free agent in the summer but the way he’s playing it looks like he has just signed a new deal at the club.
If a player is not happy with his life at a club then there’s no way he will give his 100% hence letting Aubameyang join Barcelona was a very sensible decision from Mikel Arteta.
Auba is clearly enjoying life at Barcelona and even Arsenal look a much better side after shedding off all the excess baggage during the January transfer window so the transfer has clearly done no harm to any parties.
Now what remains to be seen is how Mikel Arteta is planning to do in terms of bringing in a world-class centre-forward as the long-term replacement for Aubameyang.
