Sven Mislintat has been singing the praises of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, claiming the Arsenal striker is one of the best professionals around.
Recent winner of the Premier League’s Player of the Month award, Aubameyang has been Arsenal’s star performer so far this season. The striker has eight goals in 10 games, and almost all of them have been match-defining.
The Newcastle, Burnley and Aston Villa goals were all winners, the Spurs and United goals were equalisers, and the two goals against Watford gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead, even if they did go on to throw it away.
Only the Frankfurt goal could be considered stat-padding, coming in the 88th minute with Arsenal already 2-0 up. Given these groups are decided on head-to-head record though, that goal could also turn out to be important later.
Few question Aubameyang’s ability, but some have criticised his attitude off the pitch in the past.
Sven Mislintat denies the critics, claiming that away from the fast cars or the fancy clothes, the 30-year-old is the exact type of character you want around the training ground.
“In the dressing room, it is a completely different story,” Mislintat claimed (via The Athletic). “He is not arrogant or extroverted. For me, without any doubt, he is one of the best professionals I ever worked with.
“He is a hard worker, a great athlete. He is always smiling. He takes care of the young lads. He is a quiet leader but he really is a leader. He is funny. There is sunshine if he is around.
“If you are able to read and see Auba’s quality and personality, you get everything out of him and your club will win more games.”
On the subject of the recent penalty Aubameyang gave up for Nicolas Pepe, Mislintat claimed this sums up the care the striker takes for the team, not just himself.
“He is one, possibly the only one, of these extraordinary top, top, top strikers who is an absolute team player,” Mislintat continued. “A striker like Neymar or (Sergio) Aguero, for example, would never give a penalty to Pepe to score his first goal.
“It’s vice versa — ‘Come on, I will take this penalty kick, nobody else!’ Auba gave the chance to Pepe. His instinct was, ‘Let’s score and let’s go forward together.’ He takes care about his team-mates.”
It’s hard to imagine there are any Arsenal fans out there who are seriously concerned about Aubameyang’s attitude anymore. If anything, it’s one of the best things he’s brought to the club, and he makes a worthy vice-captain.