London [UK], February 15 (ANI): Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for his match-winning performance against Leeds United and said the latter “set the tone for the team”.
Aubameyang scored his first Premier League hat-trick as Arsenal registered a comfortable 4-2 win over Leeds United here on Sunday. With this win, Arsenal ended their three-match winless run and returned to winning ways.
“Yes, I thought he was superb today. He’s been training really well in the last week or so, he was back to normal, he looked really committed in training, really hungry. I think today he had a great performance, not only for the goals but for the way he worked without the ball as well. The amount of pressure he put on every Leeds defender and he set the tone for the team. I’m delighted for him, he deserves it,” the club’s official website quoted Arteta as saying.
Aubameyang scored the opening goal of the match in the 13th minute before doubling Arsenal’s lead in the 41st minute. Arsenal went 2-0 ahead from the penalty spot as Aubameyang sent Meslier the wrong way after the Leeds goalkeeper had fouled Bukayo Saka.
Four minutes later, Hector Bellerin netted a goal to put Arsenal in a commanding position. Aubameyang completed his treble two minutes after the break with a close-range header from Emile Smith Rowe’s delivery. Leeds United opened their account in the 58th minute through Pascal Struijk. Helder Costa then found the back of the net, taking the scoreline to 4-2.
Arteta also said that Aubameyang is a very difficult player to play against when he is firing.
“We know that a big part of our future success is related to Auba being at his best and scoring as many goals as possible. If he is in that kind of form we’re going to be closer to winning football matches, that’s clear. We can’t just rely on him but he’s a big piece of our parcel and you saw today again today, when he’s firing he’s a very difficult player to play against,” he said.
The victory moved Arsenal above Leeds United to 10th spot on 34 points. Leeds United slipped to 11th, two points behind Arsenal. (ANI)
