Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on song on Wednesday as he scored a brace at the empty Emirates Stadium to help Arsenal thrash Norwich City 4-0 in Premier League. Granit Xhaka and Cedric Soares scored the other two goals for the Gunners.
In what was Arsenal’s third straight victory, Aubameyang scored the opening goal in the 33rd minute. It was a gift for the Gabon striker as Canaries keeper Tim Krul failed to dribble past him. The goal also saw him becoming the fastest Arsenal player to reach the landmark of 50 Premier League goals.
“A player that is able to score as many goals as he’s done in that short space of time tells you everything about the importance that he has for us. We need players that can make the difference at any moment in the game every three days, in different competitions, and that’s a big test for him,” Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta was all praises for Aubameyang as quoted on the official website of Arsenal.
“He’s done that at different clubs, he’s willing to stay with him, he’s really happy where he is and can see what we’re trying to do. Hopefully he can evolve as well in some parts of his game that in my opinion he can improve. We are pushing him every day towards that,” he added.
Arsenal made their intention of a complete dominance clear when Xhaka doubled the lead in just four minutes. Aubameyang was at the heart of the matter as he turned provider for the Swiss midfielder.
About Xhaka, the Arsenal boss said, “For me, he’s a great example to any other team-mate, the way he looks after himself and lives his profession. I’m really happy that we could convince him to stay, give him another opportunity, learn from the mistake that he made and as well appreciate the player and the person that we have at the club, and support them.”
Aubameyang was handed another gift in the 67th minute when Norwich striker Josip Drmic teed him up and helped Arsenal take a lead of 3-0.
The final nail in the visitors’ coffin was put by debutante Cedric Soares who had joined the Gunners from Bournemouth in January. He made his first match in an Arsenal shirt a memorable one with a long-range strike in the 81st minute.
“I said in the past that he probably has the best end product of the guys that we have, it’s one of the main qualities that he has. He showed that tonight as well with the way he can finish. I’m so happy for the boy. He’s brought great energy and a lot of positivity to the group since he joined, even though it’s been really difficult for him with injuries and the fracture that he had in his nose. I’m glad for him. He made his debut, he scored a goal and we got the three points so it was a perfect night for him,” Arteta said about Soares.