Sadio Mane couldn’t watch as Aubameyang scored Arsenal’s 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.
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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.
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Read More:Sadio Mane couldn’t watch as Aubameyang scored Arsenal’s winning penalty