Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been in top form since joining Barcelona at the end of the January transfer window from Arsenal.
The 32-year-old moved to the Camp Nou on an 18-month contract after the Gunners waived any transfer fee in order to make the move permanent. Arsenal were keen to facilitate his permanent exit without any transfer fee due to the significant savings they will make on Aubameyang’s salary.
Yet Aubameyang has already hit top form at the Blaugrana and his goal against Levante on Sunday saw him move into double figures for the club since joining just over two months ago. The Gabonese striker has reached the milestone in just 14 appearances – which have included two substitute outings.
Indeed, the former Borussia Dortmund striker did not find the net in any of his first three games for the club – with Barca boss Xavi introducing him as a substitute in the final half-hour in his first two La Liga games to ease him back into match fitness. Aubameyang’s final game for Arsenal was on 5 December before his ostracization by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta – meaning he went over two months without a first-team game in the middle of the campaign.
That means that the striker has netted 10 goals in his last 11 games - figures which are historic in their impact at Barca and mean that he has gone into double figures quicker than multiple club legends such as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Of course, Messi’s debut came at the start of his career and he took 38 matches to reach that figure while Suarez took 24 games to hit 10 goals for the club.
Aubameyang has also reached that total quicker than David Villa (18 games) and Patrick Kluivert (26) while 14 games is as many matches that took Samuel Eto’o to reach that figure. Indeed, only three players have scored 10 goals at Barca in a faster period of time: Ronaldo Nazario (nine matches), Romario (nine) and Laszlo Kubala (13).
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Aubameyang opened his account for the Blaugrana in spectacular fashion with a thumping hat-trick with a 4-1 win at Valencia in February – commencing his streak in front of goal. He also found the net against Napoli, Athletic Bilbao, Osasuna, Galatasaray and most recently against Levante but his most impressive and decisive game was his double in the four-goal El Clasico win at Real Madrid last month.
The exit of the striker has particular resonance for Arsenal, who have struggled in front of goal since his departure – with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah the only recognised strikers in Arteta’s first-team squad. The Gunners have scored just 13 goals in 14 matches this calendar year and just once in their last three.
