Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang broke a record on Sunday as the former Arsenal captain scored his first goals for Barcelona.
Cast aside by Mikel Arteta, the 32-year-old left the club under a cloud earlier this month and did not play for Arsenal again after being stripped of the captaincy following a disciplinary breach in December.
Moving to Barcelona on a free transfer having left Arsenal by mutual consent, Aubameyang scored twice against Valencia in La Liga before being awarded a hat-trick goal after teammate Pedri’s shot deflected off of him, eventually finding the back of the net in a 4-1 win.
That now means the forward has become the first player in the 21st century to have scored hat-tricks in England, France, Germany and Spain.
One of the most clinical strikers in Europe over the years, Aubameyang scored his first in for Saint-Etienne in 2012 only two months after joining the club from AC Milan. Less than a year later, his Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga debut yielded another three goals against FC Augsburg.
For Arsenal, his only Premier League hat-trick came against Leeds United in February 2021.
In total, Aubameyang has scored 225 times in 395 appearances across Europe’s major leagues.
