BEVERLY HILLS, February 15, (THEWILL) – Arsenal’s Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on song in his stunning return to the Gunners’ starting line-up with his first-ever hat trick easing the north London outfit to a 4-2 victory against Leeds United at the Emirates. It was a trio of goals that testified to his man-of-the-match performance with a right-footed strike, a finish from the penalty spot and a header at the back post.
The goals made the Gabonese captain one of only three players to score a hat trick in three of the top five European leagues, along with Alexis Sánchez and Salomon Kalou, since the start of the 2009/2010 season.
The goal from the penalty spot was Aubameyang’s 200th goal across Europe’s top five leagues, with the 31-year-old then completing his first Premier League hat-trick two minutes after the restart. His goals marked a return to form for the Gabon striker, who had struggled to find the net since after inking a new deal.
Uncharacteristically, Aubameyang’s productivity in front of goal experienced a dip and raised some disturbing questions earlier on. However, against Leeds on Sunday, he gave an unambiguous demonstration of what he can offer Arsenal as the most gifted goalscorer in Arteta’s side.
The team captain had not started a league match since Monday, January 18, especially as he was handed a leave of absence to help care for his ill mother back home in his West Central African country of Gabon.
When the news broke about the reasons for his absence, the supportive response it elicited was massive. This was certainly top of his mind in the post-match comments he made as he immediately appreciated the support he received from Arsenal, both internally and from the fanbase.
“Happy, really happy, and my kids are going to be happy because they’re going to get it [the match ball].
“Really happy with the performance from the team today, we knew that it was going to be a hard game, they never gave up, they fought a lot, in the end I think we had good game management.
“From everybody around the club, everyone was giving a lot of love to me, my mum and my family – I’m really proud to be part of this family, I have to say thank you to everyone at the club and the fans as well because I received a lot of messages.
“Today’s win and the goals are for them.”
Aubameyang’s hat trick and Hector Bellerin’s goal combine to lift Arsenal into the top half of the Premier League table. They sit two points above Leeds and also two points behind bitter London rivals, the ninth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
