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Arsenal and Premier League shot-stopper Bernd Leno heaped immense praise on Gabonese teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a Reddit AMA session on Thursday. The German, via Arsenal's official subreddit r/Gunners, answered several questions sent in by fans across the globe.
Reddit user u/WengersJacket Zip asked Leno about what it was like to play against Aubameyang in Germany and to be his teammate now in the EPL.
Leno responded positively, saying,
"It was always very hard to play against Auba! In Germany, like in England, he was the best striker in the league with Lewandowski. Every time he scored a lot of goals and sometimes against me as well. It was very hard to play against him. But I'm very happy that he's now on my team and that the other keepers are in the bad position I was in!"
'Best striker in the Premier League'
The Arsenal keeper also weighed in on where he thinks his teammate stands among the many talented strikers in the Premier League. He continued,
"I think he's the best striker in the Premier League - I'm so happy he's our captain."
Aubameyang, who won the Premier League Golden Boot last season with a stunning 22 goals, has been one of the most prolific strikers in the EPL since his arrival. His phenomenal ability has come to the fore time and time again to save the Premier League club.
Even during a season as turbulent as 2019/20, Aubameyang has led the way for his side with 17 goals in his 26 Premier League appearances with a further three in the UEFA Europa League, taking his tally to 20 for the season with many games yet to be played.
Reddit user u/HaineBot asked Leno who among the Arsenal outfield players would make the best goalkeeper.
The Premier League goalkeeper responded saying that it would be Aubameyang once again, revealing that the former Borussia Dortmund man has caught his eye while trying to make saves.
I think it's Auba! I don't really know about his quality as a goalkeeper - I don't know who could be the best - but I saw that many times Auba would make some good saves after training in free-kick challenges. He was flying very well. I was very impressed and he could be a good choice if I got a red card and we made three changes already!
Another interesting question that the German was asked was whether he spoke to any current or former Arsenal players before he joined the Gunners.
Responding to Reddit user u/PatrickBrankov, Leno revealed that he spoke to Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi. He said,
"When I was in talks with Arsenal, you don't speak to other players because they shouldn't know about rumours..."
Leno continued,
"But I knew Musti from the national team and I spoke to him many times. He told me Arsenal is a very good club, the Premier League is very good and London is a great city. I already knew from Musti that Arsenal was a very good club to join and go to the next level. It was clear that Arsenal was an interesting option for me."
Leno and Arsenal could potentially be back in Premier League action soon as the EPL is in talks for a June return.
