The Gunners forward scored twice in the 4-2 win over Tottenham
Monday 3 December 2018 12:45, UK
We take a look at why Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang deserves more plaudits for his Premier League scoring record..
"He could be a superstar in the Premier League that man. We don't speak about him enough. We think of Kane and Aguero but he has gone under the radar in terms of the Premier League. Since he came in last January at the end of the Wenger era, his actual ratio of goals, his actual conversion rate, is as good as anyone in the Premier League."
Jamie Carragher's verdict on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came after the Arsenal forward scored twice in the Gunners' dramatic 4-2 win over Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium. The goals took him into double figures for the Premier League season and out on his own as the competition's top scorer for the current campaign.
But as Carragher suggests, Aubameyang has been delivering for Arsenal ever since he scored on his debut for the club in a 5-1 win over Everton in February. He has now hit 20 goals in his 27 Premier League appearances. No player has scored more goals in the competition in that time. It is three more than Harry Kane and eight more than Sergio Aguero.
Aubameyang's minutes-per-goal ratio during this period is also superior to any of his rivals. His goals have come at a rate of one every 104 minutes compared to the 110 minutes per goal of Aguero and the 113 minutes per goal of Salah. As for Kane, his 17 goals for Tottenham in this time have come at a rate of one every 135 minutes.
The Arsenal player's strike rate is all the more remarkable given that he has started the majority of Premier League games operating on the left wing rather than as an out-and-out striker. Seven of his dozen starts this season have been on the flank with Alexandre Lacazette playing through the middle, but it has not stopped him racking up the goals.
I have always looked at Lacazette and thought he was a good player. I am actually looking at this guy and thinking he is a great player.
"I have always looked at Lacazette and thought he was a good player," said Carragher. "I am actually looking at this guy and thinking he is a great player."
Can Aubameyang maintain this form? Incredibly, he has found the net with each of his last 10 shots on target in the Premier League. That is a run that cannot continue for long but it is now 10 months since Aubameyang made his Arsenal debut and he has shown the consistency that is demanded of a top striker. At 29, he looks to be in his prime.
Aubameyang is under the radar no more.
