ARSENAL fans were loving Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s passionate celebration from the stands as the Gunners bounced back to defeat Vitoria 3-2 in the Europa League.
Unai Emery’s side had trailed twice but a pair of Nicolas Pepe freekicks won it at the death – with Aubameyang unable to contain his joy.
The 30-year-old had been given the night off by Emery, but turned up alongside fellow rested star Sokratis Papastathopoulos to cheer on his teammates in red.
And when Pepe curled home the second of his freekicks to hand the Gunners all three points – the popular Arsenal striker couldn’t help but jump on the Greek defender in sheer delight.
And fans were loving it, with one posting: “Auba… Man’s not even playing, but he’s in RED and WHITE!!! #MyStriker #COYG Can’t believe Arsenal came from behind and won it at the death! Great resilience from the boys. And another @Arsenal victory with Hector Bellerin as captain! #ARSVSC”.
Another felt that Aubameyang himself should be skipper, simply responding: “My captain”.
While one supporter gushed: “love this man”.
Fans have been loving Aubameyang’s bromance with 72million arrival Nicolas Pepe – especially after the Gabonese striker handed Pepe the chance to score his first goal from the spot against Aston Villa.
The Ivorian’s brace had spared Emery’s blushes this time out – and prevented a bad week becoming a catastrophic one.
Monday’s loss to Sheffield United had even prompted one fan to bring an “Emery Out” banner to Thursday night’s game.
And questions have continued to loom over Mesut Ozil’s continued absence from first team squads – with the German World Cup winner having played just 142 minutes this season.
Prior to his latest omission against Vitoria, Ozil had even posted a cryptic message on Twitter and Instagram, writing: “You make me laugh…”
The post was liked by eight of his Gunners teammates… including Aubameyang and skipper Granit Xhaka.
The under-fire Emery declared himself happy with his record signing Pepe after his side’s topsy-turvy victory.
He said: “Nicolas is a very good player and we believe in him totally.
Every player needs time to adapt but his two goals were perfect and they gave us the win we deserved to keep us top of our group.
We are very happy for him and these goals will give him real confidence.
