Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang deserves to be considered world class, according to Gary Neville – with the Sky Sports pundit admitting he is among the doubters who have been won over by the Arsenal striker.
Aubameyang’s double against Everton in the Gunners’ 3-2 victory over Everton propelled the 30-year-old joint-top of the Premier League goalscoring charts with Mikel Arteta afterwards hailing his captain as “our most important player.”
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Neville believes Aubameyang’s ranking among the elite deserves to be re-evaluated.
“Including me, we have stopped short of announcing Aubameyang as world class. We’re happy to go with Aguero, we’re happy to go with Mane and Salah, Firmino, Kane… all these players who have graced the Premier League in the last two or three seasons.
“I feel that Aubameyang doesn’t get that same credit and maybe it’s something that comes from when he first entered into English football. It was a case of, ‘Why didn’t any of the top clubs want him? How did Arsenal get him? Is there something wrong with him? Why didn’t Klopp take him to Anfield?’ All these questions were being asked. I asked them myself.
“But now we’re talking about a really high level of performance over a couple of years and today, I thought it was a brilliant performance from him. Not just his goals, which he took really well, but also the shift that he put in.”
Despite also being the Premier League’s top scorer last term, Aubameyang has generally been positioned on the left of a three-man attack this season.
“I didn’t know how he would adapt to being told to go and play on the left-hand side – and the idea of doing a shift there when you think you’re the top man and you’re the goalscorer – but he seems to have really bought into it,” said Neville.
“He doesn’t look like he has been a moment’s bother since he’s come to Arsenal, so all the suggestions that he could have issues off the pitch have not materialised.
“I think it’s getting to the point now where you could argue that he is the top goalscorer in the Premier League over the last couple of seasons.
“He’s one of the best players we’ve got in the Premier League, but for some reason he doesn’t quite get the credit and the plaudits that others get. I don’t know why that is, but I think now’s the time for us all to start recognising the quality and the brilliance of this player.
“He fights for the team, he’s always there, and for me, he’s everything you would want in a football player.”
