Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Barcelona effect clearly vindicates Mikel Arteta's Arsenal exit choice

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his fifth goal for Barcelona in his sixth game since joining the Catalan club on a free transfer from Arsenal having left on the January transfer window’s deadline day.

Despite his departure, Arsenal did not bring in any replacement for the Gabonese forward and even allowed young striker Folarin Balogun to leave the club on loan until the end of the season. Aubameyang’s form for Barcelona has sparked plenty of discussions online with many claiming that manager Mikel Arteta had made a mistake letting him leave.

Arsenal have just Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah to carry their striking responsibilities until the end of the current season.

Lacazette was pivotal in Arsenal’s two victories over Wolves, forcing the chance for Gabriel Magalhaes at Molineux and then striking the ball which led to the Jose Sa own goal last Thursday. The win was the Gunners’ first double over Bruno Lage’s side for nine seasons.

The Frenchman also assisted Emile Smith Rowe for the goal against Brentford to open the scoring in a 2-1 win over the Bees. The three back-to-back wins have put Arsenal in the driving seat for the top-four race with a number of games in hand over their rivals.

One of the big factors behind allowing Aubameyang to leave was the disciplinary breaches that led to him being stripped of the club captaincy.

Aubameyang confirmed that he only had an issue with Mikel Arteta and that was why he left.

"It was just him and he made that decision. He wasn't happy, I can't tell you more. He wasn't very happy, I was very calm," said Aubameyang at his Barcelona unveiling press conference.

"My last few months at Arsenal were complicated, that’s football sometimes. For my part, I never wanted to do