Forget Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah named a surprise Arsenal star who Mikel Arteta let leave for free as the best forward he’s played with

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Arsenal have had a number of excellent attacking players on their books in recent years.

The likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli have all lit up the Emirates in the last few seasons, while Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez were the stars of the previous iteration of the Gunners.

Santi Cazorla is often cited as one of the best Arsenal players in modern times, with the Spaniard’s ability perhaps often going under the radar.

However, Eddie Nketiah identified a forward who he believed to be the best he’s played with back in 2021.

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Eddie Nketiah named Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the best forward he’s played with

Arsenal’s squad at the end of the 2010s and at the beginning of 2020s certainly wasn’t one of the most talented in the 21st century, although it did contain a few outstanding offensive players.

Saka was starting to develop into a superstar, while the likes of Ozil and Alexander Lacazette were still plying their trade in N5.

However, Arsenal’s up-and-coming striker at the time, Nketiah, cited a different name as the best he’d played with up until that point in his career.

Speaking in an interview for Soccer AM back in 2021, when asked if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the best forward he’d played alongside, the Hale End graduate emphatically said yes.

“Yeah. He’s very good man, his movement is very hard to defend against,” Nketiah said.

“I feel like he knows the type of striker he is and what he likes to do. He maximises his attributes to the fullest and it’s a big plus having him in the team.

“Obviously, he’s a great striker that I can learn from. He’s always happy, he’s always smiling, he’s always there to help with a compliment or encouragement for us youngsters and other players.

“He’s great to have around and a great striker to have on the pitch and to learn from.”

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Arsenal statistcs

Signed from Borussia Dortmund for a reported £56 million in January 2018, Aubameyang was indeed excellent in his first two-and-a-half-years in North London.

Netting ten goals in his first half season at the club, and then 31 and 29 in his next two full campaigns at the Emirates, the Gabonese number nine was as prolific as anyone in Europe, carrying a mediocre Arsenal side through some tough periods.

Aubameyang formed a formidable partnership with Lacazette that was prolific for a few seasons before both players started to decline as they aged.

It all unravelled in his final season and a half at the club, where his performances dipped significantly after signing a new lucrative long-term contract.

Mikel Arteta fell out with Aubameyang, whose declining professionalism didn’t live up to the leadership standards the manager wanted to set for the rest of his squad.

Eventually leaving for free for disciplinary reasons, the striker’s legacy is somewhat tarnished at Arsenal after he departed in contentious circumstances and later joined Chelsea.