Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets has claimed that signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a free transfer last month was a gift for the club.
Speaking to Movistar+ (h/t GOAL), Sergio Busquets has lavished praise on Barcelona new signing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, insisting that the Arsenal striker has been an incredible addition to the roster.
Aubameyang arrived at Barcelona earlier this month on a free transfer. The 32-year-old had fallen out of favour at Arsenal and was stripped of his captaincy duties before being frozen out by manager Mikel Arteta. And, the Blaugrana, who were on the lookout for an ace goalscorer, made the most of the situation.
While it was initially believed that the Gabonese international would sign on loan until the end of the season, Arsenal decided to terminate his contract, allowing him to join Barcelona permanently on a free transfer.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund ace made his debut for the club in the win against Atletico Madrid earlier this month. Aubameyang had failed to score in his first three appearances for Barcelona, but, making his first La Liga start for the club on Sunday against Valencia, the former Arsenal captain put in a fine display, netting a hat-trick to fire the Catalans to a 4-1 victory.
? ???? ???? ?? !!! The referee of today's #ValenciaBarça has given @Pedri's goal to @Auba!
… ? ??? ????? ??? ??? ???????? !!! ? pic.twitter.com/hYVdY8X2S4
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 20, 2022
And, Busquets has hailed the striker, claiming that signing him for free was like a gift for Barcelona. “He’s working really well, he came here needing minutes but he is getting them now I hope he helps us like this because he is a great player and having him in the squad on a free transfer is a gift,” the Barcelona captain said.
Two of Aubameyang’s goals on Sunday evening came in the first period. And the third one was a bit fortuitous as Pedri’s brilliant strike from outside the box ended into the back of the net via a slight deflection of the striker’s back. While the goal was initially given to the midfielder, who came in for serious praise from the manager, it was later awarded to Aubameyang.
The 32-year-old had scored a hat-trick on his last visit to the Mestalla back in 2019 with Arsenal, and having repeated his heroics for Barcelona on Sunday, he said, “The last time I played here I scored a hat-trick with Arsenal, so you could say that Mestalla is like my home.”
The Catalan giants will hope that Aubameyang can build on this display and hit top form to help the team ensure a top-four finish.
