Mikel Arteta was pleased to see Aubameyang back in regular minutes and also score a goal after a difficult past few weeks.
Arsenal returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory against Newcastle and a certain goal-scorer in Aubameyang added more gloss to the victory.
The Gunners captain has battled with malaria and confidence issues over recent weeks and grabbed his first goal for Arsenal in almost two months.
Aubameyang played through the middle at St. James’ Park and scored with an acrobatic finish to continue his brilliant form against the Magpies. He has scored at least a goal against Newcastle on three different occasions this season.
Ahead of a must-win game against Villarreal at the weekend, the form of the Gunners captain is something positive for head coach Mikel Arteta.
Speaking on Aubameyang after the game, the Spaniard said to the club’s website: “We wanted to see how he could cope. On Thursday he was only able to play 10 or 15. He had some difficult days just before the game. He felt better before the game, I spoke with him and he wanted to start. He managed to play more minutes than we expected and score a goal too.”
Arteta has to get his selection right on Thursday and spoke on that as well. He added: “Yes. We need to pick the right team to beat them and then on the substitutions, which are key in Europe. We’ll go for it.”
Aubameyang was also glad to be back on the picth and thanked the Gunners’ doctors for helping him return to full fitness quick enough.
“When you are out for a few weeks you realise how good it is to be back on the pitch and scoring a goal,” said the Gunners captain.
“The last five minutes I was dying a little bit but to tell the truth I felt good for most of the game and I was happy with that. The doctors did incredible work with me and I am really pleased with them and have to say thank you to them.”
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