03 December 2018, by: Leonard Solms

WHY AUBAMEYANG IS A GREAT BET FOR PREMIER LEAGUE GOLDEN BOOT

After a brace in Sunday’s North London derby, Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sits two goals clear of the pack in the race for Premier League top goalscorer. However, at the time of writing, BET.co.za rates him as only third favourite, behind Harry Kane and Sergio Agüero. This writer’s advice to punters is to cash in while you can.

Kane and Agüero are presumably rated as safer bets due to their history of success in Premier League Golden Boot races. The Manchester City star earned the accolade in 2014/15, while the Tottenham striker won it in each of the following two seasons.

Aubameyang is in his first full season as a Premier League player, having joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund late in the January 2018 transfer window.

His transfer was met with mixed reactions. While there was never any doubt about his goalscoring ability, some were concerned about the alleged attitude problems that led to him falling out with the hierarchy at Dortmund.

Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang are great players but I’m not convinced they’re the type of characters that will turn Arsenal around. Someone like Jonny Evans would also be useful

— Dean Jones (@DeanJonesBR) January 31, 2018

For those who payed careful attention to Aubameyang’s career before his move to the Gunners, it will be no surprise to see the Gabonese hitman silencing his critics.

He was on the books of AC Milan as a youngster, but after several modest loan spells in France, he finally joined Saint-Étienne permanently midway through 2011/12.

It was here that his career took off, and after shining that season and the next, he earned a move to Dortmund, then under the guidance of Jürgen Klopp. He went from strength to strength at Signal Iduna Park, scoring 98 Bundesliga goals in 144 appearances and beating Robert Lewandowski to finish as the league’s top scorer in 2016/17.

Even in his final half-season at Dortmund, which saw his attitude heavily questioned, Aubameyang scored 13 goals in 16 league games. Then, after moving to Arsenal, he added another 10 league strikes to his 2017/18 tally in 13 appearances.

Some thoughts on Aubameyang: 1st watched him at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations… Most impressive thing about him is how hard he had worked to improve. From someone pushed out wide, who was considered a poor finisher to 1 of the top strikers in Europe. Improving every year#AFC — John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) January 31, 2018

We should not be surprised to see the 29-year-old on top of the scoring charts in 2018/19, with 10 goals from 14 appearances. While Kane and Agüero are world class strikers, no frontman who outscored Lewandowski in his last full season should fear a soul.

Bet against Aubameyang if you will, but remember: he is at his most dangerous after being written off.

Harry Kane 2.30

Sergio Aguero 2.95

P-E. Aubameyang 3.50

Mo Salah 5.00

Raheem Sterling 13.25

BET: Premier League Top Goalscorer 2018/19*

*Odds correct at time of publication

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Leonard Solms

Leonard Solms is a sports journalist who features regularly on various local and international platforms including ESPN, New Frame, FARPost, Tagged Online and Careers Magazine, as well as this one. He enjoys the occasional bet and the most important tip he can give you is to bet within your means.