Gary Neville has been left wowed by the ‘absolutely unbelievable’ workrate of Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as he told MNF on Sky Sports PL.
The Sky pundit admitted that Aubameyang’s off-the-ball actions are inspiring to the younger players like Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
On Monday night, Aubameyang opened the scoring as Arsenal recorded a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace on home soil.
Whilst the Gunners would have been annoyed with the dropped point and how they reacted to Aubameyang putting them ahead, the £56 million player (BBC Sport) was leading the line like he had a point to prove.
And, in the first half, he showcased his old cat-like instinctive ways when he ruthlessly reacted quickest to Nicolas Pepe’s shot.
But it was the player’s workrate that impressed Neville the most and how it sends out a message to three other individuals in the team.
“Absolutely unbelievable,” said Neville. “The North London derby a couple of weeks ago, I thought he set the tone.
“You think about those three talented young players that play in behind him (Smith Rowe, Saka and Odegaard). That’s exactly how he has to lead. He has to be like that.
“We know he is a great striker. But now he is starting to get the rewards for his workrate.
“Honestly, if your front players are pressing from the front, then the rest of your teammates, one respect you, two it makes a massive difference in how you all react off that and your are inspired by that.”
It’s pretty hard to workout whether Arsenal are on the right track or flattering to deceive.
The issue with the Palace game is that the Gunners recorded a 2-2 draw against a side that didn’t have their best player.
In truth, they were lucky to get the point because Patrick Vieira’s men were the better side.
But, on the other, they showed strong resilience to get something from the game when they weren’t at their best.
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