Aubameyang equals Thierry Henry record as teen sensation gifted Arsenal nickname

The former Gunners striker has also nicknamed Marseille’s new teenage playmaker after another famous Arsenal star as he enjoys the twilight of his career in the south of France

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalled Thierry Henry’s total of European goals with his brace against Newcastle – and has nicknamed Marseille’s new teenage sensation after another Arsenal superstar.

The Gabon striker was hailed as a “champion” by Roberto De Zerbi after his two goals took his tally in European football to 59 – level with Henry. Aubameyang has now netted 20 goals in the Champions League along with a record 34 in the Europa League and five in qualifiers.

His latest strikes follows the former Dortmund, Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea striker netting his 400th career goal against Nice last week. He is enjoying his best start to a season for eight years at the age of 36 and after spending last season in the Saudi Pro League.

READ MORE: French media stunned by ‘new Didier Drogba’ as ex-Arsenal star steals headlinesREAD MORE: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doesn’t hold back with X-rated verdict on Chelsea move

Like a good wine, Auba has grown better with age. Any loss in pace has been compensated by his footballing know-how, shown by his sharp near-post finish for the second goal against Newcastle.

Asked on TNT Sports how many goals he can score, he laughed: “Yeah, a lot. Hopefully a lot. I’m feeling great. Even if I’m 36. Yeah. I’m enjoying it. And when you live this type of game, of course you want to play more and score more.

“I’m very happy and very happy to be here in this club, to enjoy moments like this.”

Auba had scored 30 goals in all competitions for Marseille in 2023-24 – the most since Didier Drogba in 2003-04 (32) – but cost-cutting saw the southern side need to get his €7.2m annual salary off the wage bill. He signed for Saudi side Al Qadsiah for €6.5m and they paid his €20m salary with 17 goals before terminating his contract and re-signing for Marseille on a smaller contract. It has been a good deal for him and the 1993 Champions League winners.

Former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has now built a team around Aubameyang as the lone striker with Mason Greenwood and Brazilian Igor Paixao adding pace on the flanks.

Aubameyang netted the winning goals in the 2020 FA Cup final before falling out with Mikael Arteta and getting stripped of the captaincy and shipped out to Barcelona in 2022.

But he has forged a close relationship with De Zerbi and the Italian showed his trust in his striker after Auba missed two good chances in the first half against Newcastle.

“He was very calm at the break,” said De Zerbi. “I told him to keep playing like that. We were creating a lot of chances without allowing a lot so we had to keep going. There is no point telling him too much – he is 36 years old and a champion.”

Within a minute of the re-start, the Gabon striker raced on to a pass from 17-year-old debutant Darryl Bakola before rounding the stranded Nick Pope to score the equaliser.

In their joint post-match interview on French TV, Auba said: “You should ask him what his nickname is, because I said he was going to make an assist.”

Bakola laughed: “Mesut, Mesut Özil. Yesterday (Monday), before training, he nicknamed me that. I took it, and it worked. We’re happy.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

£49

£35

Sky

Get the deal here

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.