Gary Neville left with egg on his face after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang comments

Gary Neville has been left with egg on his face over his previous comments on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Arsenal allowed Aubameyang to leave for free to Barcelona on deadline day, ending a four-year spell at the Emirates.

The Gabon international had been relieved of his captaincy duties and ousted from the squad by Mikel Arteta, despite being a key man prior to the pair's falling out.

Aubameyang scored 92 goals in 163 games during his time at the club, leaving him seventh on the Gunners' all-time top goalscorers.

And back in February 2020, Neville waxed lyrically about the 32-year-old after he struck a match-winning double against Everton, dubbing him a ' Premier League great'.

"You talk about Arsenal lacking leaders, he has everything you could want," he told Sky Sports.

"I think this guy is everything you could want, there is a bit of Ian Wright in him, a bit of nastiness.

"In his interviews he shows a bit of character. He works hard off the ball, works hard on the ball.

"He is one minute behind Henry in all-time minutes per goal. Henry played over longer period, he is ahead of Jesus, Salah, Ruud van Nistelrooy – it felt like he scored a goal every ten seconds.

"It is unbelievable performance of this lad over two years. We don't talk of him as a Premier League great but I think we have to."

Of course, those comments were just before he signed a new £350,000-a-week contract that then spiralled a miserable run of form.

And it appears Neville even predicted the future somewhat with his next statement as he discussed how Aubameyang is known for being "difficult".

He added: "We asked the question why did Klopp not sign him when he needed a striker? And other managers who needed a centre forward.

"I thought it was a test