Arsenal have experienced a revival under Mikel Arteta, after an atrocious start to this season with Unai Emery at the helm and stagnation during former player Freddie Ljungberg in charge. The Spanish tactician may only be in his first couple of months of first-team management, but he used one of the oldest tricks in the book when his star striker and Premier League top scorer on 17 goals Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was praised by Gary Neville. Arteta channelled his inner Jose Mourinho to deflect the comments towards rival striker Harry Kane and quieten the prospect of the Gabonese marksman departing in the summer.
Neville initiated the debate by saying: “He’s not mentioned as a world-class, we don’t mention him as a Premier League great, but I think we have to”. Arteta responded by suggesting: “Harry Kane has scored 30 goals and never won the Premier League.” He added: “There are a lot of good examples of players that do phenomenally, but unfortunately there are a lot of top teams in this country and only one wins the league.”
Aubameyang has been linked with an exit from the Emirates Stadium, with Barcelona reportedly interested, and the 30-year-old’s contract is due to expire at the end of next season. But his importance to Arsenal cannot be understated as he is the sixth-highest scorer in Europe’s top five leagues this term, providing 44 per cent of the Gunners’ 39 Premier League goals, as per WhoScored. Deflecting the fact the 30-year-old is yet to win a trophy with Arsenal, especially the league title, was a smart move from a manager hoping to hold onto his prized asset as he attempts to rebuild the north London club.
At 26-year-old Kane has slightly more time on his hands to secure a Premier League winners medal, but another reason he has remained with Spurs is that he emerged through their youth academy, along with the fact they are his boyhood club. But by using one of Mourinho’s most infamous techniques and deflecting Neville’s comments in the Tottenham Hotspur manager’s direction, Arteta may have just bought himself some more time to convince last season’s joint golden boot winner he should extend his deal at the Emirates Stadium.
