With rumours that Arsenal are chasing the possible signing of Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a £30m deal this summer (according to the Daily Telegraph), here’s a list of seven facts Gunners fans should know about the player…
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1) He’s a late bloomer
A promising goalscoring winger or striker for some time, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang never made a breakthrough at his first club AC Milan, being sent out on loan four times before eventually being sold by the club to Saint-Etienne, where he really started to make a name for himself at the age of around 23.
2) Faster than Usain Bolt and Arjen Robben
With a sprint record of covering 30 metres in just 3.7 seconds, the 25-year-old is faster than Jamaican Olympic star Usain Bolt, as well as the world’s fastest footballer, Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben.
3) He starred in Ligue 1
After finally being sold to Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne, Aubameyang really started to impress, finishing behind only Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the French scoring charts for 2012/13, with 19 goals for his club and eight assists, also second only to Ibrahimovic.
4) Expensive fashion sense!
He gained some attention for this extravogant stunt – wearing crystal encrusted boots in a game against Lyon in 2012, as seen above.
5) Marked his Bundesliga debut in style
Signed by Borussia Dortmund last season, Aubameyang marked his debut for the club with a hat-trick, and has continued to show a fine eye for goal since then, scoring 34 goals in 84 games for the German club despite often playing out wide or behind the main striker.
6) Eligible for many national sides
A Gabon international since 2009, Aubameyang played for France at Under-21 level and also turned down the chance to play for Italy Under-19s. His mother is also Spanish, so he had a lot of options at international level.
7) He does weird celebrations
A lively character, Aubameyang has become known this season for some bizarre goal celebrations, including a Batman mask, as pictured above, and also a Spiderman costume!