Skip to main content

What Sadio Mane Did Before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's Penalty Against Liverpool



 Sadio Mane couldn't watch as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the winning penalty.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played a key role as Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to lift the Community Shield at the weekend.

Scoring the decisive penalty was a great moment for him, his teammates and head coach Mikel Arteta, but the moment leading up to the spot-kick was too much to handle for one Reds star in particular.

The Gunners captain, who scored twice in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea at the beginning of the month to set up a meeting with the Premier League champions at Wembley Stadium, broke the deadlock with a stunning strike in the 12th minute.

However, Takumi Minamino levelled matters late in the second half to ensure the tie would be settled via a penalty shootout.

After Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Cedric, David Luiz had successfully converted their spot-kicks, as did Mohamed Salah, Fabinho, Minamino, and Curtis Jones.

But the Reds were playing catch-up from the moment wonderkid Rhian Brewster smashed his effort against the crossbar.

As a result, Aubameyang had the chance to win the game as Arsenal's final penalty taker and seeing the Gabon international step forward was too much to handle for Sadio Mane in particular.

The image below shows the Reds no.10 covering his face, barely able to watch as Aubameyang placed the ball on the spot seconds before sending Alisson the wrong way and finding the net.

Speaking after the game, Arteta delivered an update on Aubameyang's contract situation and praised the forward's overall performance against Jurgen Klopp's side.

"No. I keep saying the same thing. I try to do my job which is convince him he is in the right place, that he has the right environment here to produce like he has done today and like he did three weeks ago [in the FA Cup]," Arteta said.

"I'm very positive he is going to sign. But there are a lot of things involved in a contract deal and we are trying to solve them.

I'm not worried because we can try to do as much as possible to convince the player or tell them what we think and put all the cards on the table to try and keep him here but after is the part of the player and the agent that have to agree.

"I think we built a really good relationship between us and hopefully we can do it. Now I am confident and happy, I see how he behaves everyday and how much he smiles in training.

"Believe me, with Auba that's a really good sign.

Yeah, I think the move from the team was really, really good. He put the ball all the time where it belongs.

"The way he took the penalty, he wanted to take the last one and he took it really well and another trophy for Arsenal.

"I'm delighted with his performance with and without the ball.


READ ALSO: Arenal Set To Do Maitland-Niles U-Turn

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'I Tried My Best' - Arsenal Boss Arteta Believes He Did All He Could To Include Axed Ozil

The 32-year-old did not feature for the Gunners after lockdown and was subsequently omitted from the club's 25-man Premier League squad. Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta believes he did all he could to give Mesut Ozil a fair shot before he axed the German from his squad.  Ozil's name was not among Arsenal's 25-man Premier League squad that was released earlier this month, which followed the playmaker's exclusion from Arsenal's Europa League squad. As the 32-year-old enters the final months of his contract with the Gunners, it now appears likely that he has played his final game for the team. Ozil did play a part for Arsenal last season, at one point starting 10 consecutive Premier League games for the Gunners before the coronavirus lockdown in March. The playmaker did not make a single appearance for Arsenal after lockdown, however, but Arteta has still insisted he gave Ozil every chance to impress before he was omitted from his team. "What I can tell you that I...
1 comment
Read more

Arteta Must Be Strong To Survive Allegri Rumours’ – Arsenal Boss Can’t Show Weakness, Says Smith

The former Gunners striker has urged an under-fire Spaniard to prove that he is the right man for the job and end links to an ex-Juventus coach Alan Smith claims it is “an open secret” that former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is being recommended to Arsenal amid their ongoing struggles, with Mikel Arteta told he is going to have to show no weakness in order to “survive” the rumours. The Gunners have continued to stumble out of the blocks in 2020-21, with their worst start made to a Premier League campaign. Inability to establish any kind of momentum has the north London outfit languishing in the bottom-half of the table and glancing anxiously over their shoulder at the drop zone below them. Unsurprisingly, questions are being asked of Arteta’s ongoing presence, with a rookie coach finding out the hard way just how tough life at the top can be. Arsenal have offered no indication that they are contemplating another managerial change, but Smith says potential successors – including ...
2 comments
Read more

Arsenal's £72m Enigma: Arteta Right To Demand More From Mercurial Pepe

The Gunners' record signing may have scored his third goal of the season on Thursday night but his manager wants consistency across 90 minutes. Mikel Arteta’s answer was clear when asked what Nicolas Pepe needed to show in order to earn himself a regular starting spot in Arsenal's Premier League team. “Consistency,” said the Arsenal boss, when quizzed on the Gunners’ record signing, following Thursday’s night’s 4-1 Europa League win against Molde at the Emirates Stadium. It was a game that perfectly encapsulated the enigma that is Pepe. The £72 million ($95m) man was infuriating at times - especially in the first half - but just as he had done against Dundalk a week earlier, he popped up with an excellent goal. He also went on to add an assist for Joe Willock, a late strike which sealed a comfortable victory for Arteta’s side and all but booked Arsenal’s passage into the knockout stages. It was a classic Pepe performance and more evidence of why he remains such a puzzle in nort...
Post a Comment
Read more