"His role is different to the one that he had" - Arsenal manager Arteta happy with 'leader' Aubameyang

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is happy to see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back in top form as the Gunners continue their fine form in the Premier League. The tactician expressed his feelings concerning the Gabonese striker during an interview as per the Daily Mail.

Aubameyang struggled to impress last season and Arteta has revealed he had a reflective moment with the attacker to help him improve. He said:

"Obviously, when you have a season where, as a team and individually, we haven’t fulfilled our expectations, we have to find the reasons why. How we can change, how we can improve, how we can help him to improve certain things that are going to have a huge impact on the team."

Mikel Arteta then proceeded to praise the Gabonese for embracing his newly-found role in leading the team. The Arsenal coach remarked:

"He’s been so willing to lead from the start and I'm so pleased because his role is different to the one that he had two or three years ago. Now, he needs to lead in every sense and he's doing that and I'm really happy with it. I think he is enjoying it and as you can see on the pitch, he is playing with a smile on his face."

Mikel Arteta added:

"He is transmitting energy, passion, willingness – not only on the pitch but outside the pitch as well. That's what we want. A happy Auba is linked with his character and that's what he's able to transmit to everybody. That energy is always positive for the team."

Aubameyang has been an influential figure in Arsenal's team this season.

Aubameyang's impressive form for Arsenal this season

It took Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang three games to score his first goal for Arsenal this season. The striker finally opened his account for the campaign with a spectacular hat-trick against West Brom in the EFL Cup in August. Since then, he's been firing on all cylinders for the Gunners in all competitions.

So far, the Gabonese has bagged seven goals and two assists for Mikel Arteta's side in nine appearances across all fronts. Arsenal will be hoping he maintains that level of performance until the end of the campaign.