Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has insisted he will come up with a game plan to beat Chelsea as a team, without focusing on former player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
He however warned his team that Aubameyang has the quality to score a goal in the upcoming Premier League derby on Sunday.
According to Arteta, the Gabon striker will continue to do that until he decides to retire from football.
The Spaniard also said that he would have to put in a plan in order to stop Aubameyang from scoring against the Gunners at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
Aubameyang, who joined Chelsea in the summer from Barcelona, was iced by Arteta last season. This led to his premature departure from the club as a free agent.
Speaking after Arsenal’s Europa League victory over FC Zurich on Thursday, Arteta commented on the threat Aubameyang possessed.
“If Auba has something, it’s the ability to put the ball in the back of the net and he’s going to be doing that until the day that he decides he’s had enough of football,” Arteta told the club’s official website.
When asked how to stop Aubameyang, Arteta added: “We will have to look first of all at what Chelsea do. And try to put a plan together to avoid that.”
The backstory
Aubameyang scored 68 goals in 128 games for Arsenal between 2018 and 2021.
That included one against the Blues in December 2019. He may become just the second player in Premier League history to score for both teams after Cesc Fabregas.
Arteta’s team have lost just five points overall through 12 games. Arsenal will travel just a short distance to west London while leading the Premier League standings.
