Arsenal have been handed an injury boost, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returned to training at the club following an injury scare during international duty.
The forward was involved in Gabon’s win over Libya during their World Cup qualifier. He scored the only goal of the match, but was stretched off the pitch which led to speculations over his fitness. He was also absent in his country’s 2-1 loss against Egypt on Tuesday that ended their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.
Nevertheless, Gabon were already out of the race irrespective of the result against Egypt. Whilst there weren’t any injury updates by their national team, reports started emerging that the 32-year-old would miss the game against the Reds this weekend.
The rumours have now been brushed aside after football journalist, Charles Watts spoke about the situation in detail on his Youtube channel. The decision for his early return to north London was pre-planned and had nothing to do with the Arsenal man’s fitness. He has travelled back from Africa via a private jet.
Here is the tweet:
Aubameyang is back training today at London Colney as normal. His early return from international duty was pre-planned with Gabon. No injury or anything like that. He's fine for Saturday.
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) November 17, 2021
Arsenal Fever View:
It is good news that Aubameyang is already in London Colney, training for the crunch fixture. He will be a key man in Mikel Arteta’ team that travels to Anfield on Saturday.
The Gunners travel to Merseyside on the back of an impressive 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions. Undoubtedly, the Arsenal captain would have been a huge miss. Jurgen Klopp’s men have not been at their usual best recently, shining a glimmer of hope that the Emirates club could finally secure a win at Anfield.
Aubameyang’s electrifying pace should be wisely utilised by Arteta. He is capable of grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck if provided with the right service. Another aspect of his game that has drastically improved is his work rate. He constantly tracks back for the team and leads the high press perfectly.
Youngsters Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale have all been away on international break for England. They have performed impressively during the week and could be pivotal for the clash.
This presents a perfect opportunity for Arteta to showcase the progress his team has made. They are in touching distance of a top-four spot which should be an added motivation for Saturday and this season, they have shown that they possess the mettle to secure a positive result against top teams in Premier League.
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