Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has revealed he was regularly in contact with former team-mate Henrikh Mkhitaryan over their Arsenal transfers before either deal had been completed.
Aubameyang completed his club record £56million move to the Emirates last Wednesday, just over a week after Mkhitaryan had arrived at Arsenal as part of the swap deal that took Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United.
The two had been team-mates together at Borussia Dortmund, where they built an enviable bond in attack that marked the German side out as one of the most formidable in Europe.
It was a partnership they were keen to resume when Arsenal began targeting both as part of their January window overhaul of their striker-orce.
“It’s like [being reunited with] a brother, a good friend,” Aubameyang said. “We play together in the past and I’m really happy to see him again.
“He called me a few times, he asked ‘will you come or not?’ I said ‘first you have to tell me if you sign or not’.
“He told me all was done and of course it was a big factor in coming here.”
In Pictures | Arsenal vs Everton | 03/02/2018
Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan showed that their bond hadn’t vanished in their first game together, a 5-1 win over Everton on Saturday, with the latter teeing up his new team-mate to score Arsenal’s fourth, albeit from an offside position.
And the Gabon striker has assured Arsenal fans it will be the start of a successful partnership.
“We understand each other on and off the pitch, that’s why it’s easier on the pitch,” he said on the Arsenal Weekly Podcast.
“[The fans] have to be happy [to see us together], we will do our best of course, like we did in the past.”
