Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will face his old team Arsenal on Sunday as Chelsea host the Premier League leaders (Picture: BBC)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has named Alexandre Lacazette as the teammate who has had the biggest impact on his career.
The Gabon international has spent over a decade lighting up four of Europe’s traditional big leagues with his goalscoring prowess and played alongside some of the continent’s biggest names.
Aubameyang enjoyed arguably the most impressive spell of his career at Arsenal where he won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2019, before firing the club to FA Cup success the following year.
The former Borussia Dortmund star struck an impressive partnership with Lacazette during their time together in north London and became huge friends off the pitch as well.
And Aubameyang has credited Lacazette, now back at Lyon, with helping him through some of the most difficult periods in his career.
He told the BBC: If I have to choose one I think it’s Lacazette. For sure, because in bad times he helped me a lot.’
The 33-year-old enjoyed a successful six-month stint at Barcelona following his acrimonious departure from the Gunners in January but moved to Chelsea in the summer after the Catalan giants opted to cash in on a player who they signed on a free.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette struck up a great friendship during their time at Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
Aubameyang will come face-to-face with some of his former Arsenal teammates and Mikel Arteta when Chelsea host the Premier League leaders on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
The striker’s relationship with Arteta and the breakdown of it is sure to come under the microscope ahead of what is shaping up to be a crucial London derby.
Last month Aubameyang was forced to address footage of him that went viral in which he slammed his old Arsenal boss and wished everyone at his former club well.
Chelsea’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is getting ready to face his old team on Sunday (Picture: Getty)
Shortly after moving to Catalunya, Aubameyang filmed an interview with A Jewellers on their YouTube channel, which has only been released recently, in which he aimed several digs at Arteta after their acrimonious falling out.
‘We knew the coach, Xavi, then he called me and said there is an opportunity because you have those problems with Arsenal, but if you come you will help us a lot, so I said okay,’ explained Aubameyang in the video.
‘But to manage big characters or big players, he [Arteta] can’t deal with it. He [Arteta] needs some young players, they don’t say anything, they listen.’
While Aubameyang has stopped short of a full apology for his criticism of Arteta, he has acknowledged that his comments were said somewhat in the heat of the moment having only recently left Arsenal for Barcelona when the remarks were made.
‘I’m aware there is a video out that was recorded just after I arrived at Barca. At the time I still had a lot of bad feelings in me,’ he tweeted on Monday afternoon.
‘Arsenal are doing great things this season and I wish all my old guys well, just not on November 6 [when Chelsea host the Gunners]. Now full focus on tomorrow [against AC Milan in the Champions League].’
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The former Gunners captain will face his old side at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
