Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wants to be Arsenal’s new Thierry Henry. The Gabon striker revealed his lofty ambitions after completing his move to the Emirates Stadium from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of £56 million ( €63.75 million).
The 28-year-old, who scored 98 goals in 144 Bundesliga games for Dortmund, is a replacement for Alexis Sanchez following his switch to Manchester United.
But Aubameyang has set his sights higher than stepping into the Chilean’s boots – he wants to emulate record Gunners goalscorer Henry.
“I think the club has such a big history and great players like Thierry Henry,” he told Arsenal Player.
“He’s an example for us strikers because he was fast and scored a lot of goals.
“I think I have to work a lot to be like him, but I will do. I’m a fast player and I score goals too, like Henry a little bit. But as I said, I have to work a lot more.”
Aubameyang will be reunited with former Dortmund team-mate Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who moved to north London in exchange for Sanchez.
“Of course I can join Micki in this team, so I’m really happy to be here in this great team,” he added.
“I hope that we will come back to the top as soon as possible. I will do my best to join in.”
Aubameyang's arrival signing is a welcome boost for boss Arsene Wenger, who saw his side's hopes of a top-four finish suffer a setback with a 3-1 defeat at struggling Swansea on Tuesday night.
It could also pave the way for the departure of French striker Olivier Giroud, who has been linked with a move to Chelsea.
Tensions between Aubameyang and Dortmund had grown in recent weeks, but the German side's sporting director Michael Zorc said on the club website: "He has done great things for Borussia Dortmund, scored many important goals and is part of the team that brought the DFB-Pokal to Dortmund in 2017.
“We wish Pierre-Emerick all the best for his future at Arsenal.”
