Former Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang posted an ambiguous Instagram message after Mikel Arteta’s side beat Chelsea on Wednesday.
The Gabonese forward – who joined Barcelona this year – messaged his former Arsenal teammate Eddie Nketiah, who bagged a brace as the Gunners responded emphatically to claim the three points at Stamford Bridge. The north Londoners had lost their last three on the bounce and were in danger of seeing their top four hopes slip away but produced an impressive display across the capital.
Aubameyang is enduring a difficult spell of form for the Blaugrana but has bagged 10 goals for his new club following Mikel Arteta’s contentious decision to allow him to leave the Emirates as a free agent. However, he took the time to message Nketiah – with whom he was a teammate in North London.
Nketiah scored his team's opener and also bagged their third, which put them back in front after Chelsea had twice equalised. Unsurprisingly, the striker took to Instagram after the match to post a celebration picture from the game alongside the caption “God’s timing” with the emoji of a phone, a praying emoji and the #COYG (Come On You Gunners) hashtag.
His teammates Nuno Tavares, Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka were among those to leave comments for the strikers, with Saka saying: “You deserve this bro.” Former Gunners youth products Joe Willock and Alex Iwobi sent messages of congratulations under the post. Barry Douglas – who played alongside Nketiah while he was on loan at Leeds – expressed his delight at seeing that the youngster back in the goals.
The most notable post came from former Gunners captain Aubameyang, who responded to Nketiah’s post with a phone emoji and a heart. It was indicative that the Barca star had watched the game and was delighted for his former teammate.
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Nketiah confessed he had a "chip on his shoulder" after scoring twice against Chelsea - the team who released him as a teenager.: "I think it makes that bit more special, I was here up until U14s and then got let go so you always have that chip on your shoulder to come and prove yourself. But today isn't about me, it is good I got two goals, but it is about the team and bouncing back."
He went on to add: "I think it gives us confidence, we've all stuck together through the difficult times. We've showed that we can bounce back from setbacks. Today is a great result, it is always nice winning a derby and we're just looking to push on and hopefully keep getting three points to climb up the table."
The victory lifted Arsenal into fifth place in the Premier League and alongside Tottenham on 57 points, yet the Gunners North London rivals remain ahead of them in the race for the top four on goal difference.
