Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice in the club’s Europa League win over Benfica on Thursday night.
Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has hit back at Jamie Redknapp on social media in the aftermath of the club’s 3-2 win over Benfica. The Gabon international was recently criticised by the Sky Sports pundit. But, since then, he’s been back to his best.
Arsenal were facing elimination from the Europa League on Thursday night.
Aubameyang struck against Benfica to give the Gunners the lead, with the Portuguese giants then responding to go 2-1 up.
Arsenal got themselves back into the game through the magnificent Kieran Tierney, whose powerful left-footed finish sailed into the net.
And, in the dying stages, Aubameyang popped up to score the winner.
It’s been a difficult season for the Gabon international but, in recent times, there have been signs he’s back to his best.
And he couldn’t resist reacting to criticism from Redknapp after the Europa League win, having taken his tally to three goals in the competition from as many matches.
In the week, Redknapp took aim at the 31-year-old by saying: “I look at Aubameyang… Aubameyang’s past his best.
“He’s going to have moments, he’s going to get hat-tricks.
“When I watch him sometimes it’s like he’s lost his superpower. I saw him run past people when he first came to the Premier League, I saw him run past people when he was at Dortmund.
“I’m seeing now a player who looks like he’ll get bullied on every occasion.
“And he’s your leading light. The likes of Saka and Smith Rowe, they’re the ones leading the way, it’s the other players who I feel have got to step up more.”
And Aubameyang has now reacted on social media.
He shared a screenshot on the article on his Instagram account, accompanying the image with a laughing emoji.
The post also featured a comment from a fan which read: “The best answer is on the pitch, Auba. Their hate is our fuel.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was asked about Redknapp’s comments on Aubameyang before the game, and insisted he hadn’t read up on them.
“I didn’t see those comments. I’ve heard about them,” said the Spaniard, whose side are now in the hat for today’s Europa League round of 16 draw.
“I’m here to support every single player and that is what I try to do all the time.
“I try to give them the best possible advice and when they have a difficult moment, stay right behind them and that’s what we try to do always.”
Meanwhile, though Aubameyang was the hero of the hour against Benfica, Arteta believes Willian changed the game after coming on.
“Willian specifically, I think he changed the game,” he said.
“He gave us much more composure in moments, produced some creativity, produced the goal for Kieran and we need everybody on board.”
Aubameyang himself said: “Everyone is happy tonight.
“This is what gives me power every day, taking errors from the past and transforming to strength.
“The team showed a lot of character and we deserved the win. It was a hard game. What we showed tonight will be an example for the future.”
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