Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Arsenal reunion did not go according to plan for the Chelsea striker who suffered a defeat against his old club at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
In Italy, Victor Osimhen continued his fine goalscoring form in Napoli’s 2-1 win at Atalanta, but what was peculiar about Saturday’s success for Luciano Spalletti’s men?
In this feature, GOAL‘s Seye Omidiora picks out some of the under-the-radar stats you may have missed this week – and explains what they mean for Africa’s biggest stars.
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Said Benrahma
The Algerian scored a piledriver to open the scoring in West Ham United’s encounter with Crystal Palace but it was not enough as the Hammers lost the London derby.
Benrahma’s goal was his 11th Premier League goal for the club but the first from outside the box since 2020-21, his first season at West Ham.
The former Brentford man certainly has the ability to score from distance and will back himself to keep hitting the back of the net from low-percentage shots after Sunday’s effort.
Much was made about Aubameyang facing off with old friends in Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea on Sunday, where the striker ended on the losing side after another subdued performance.The Gabonese barely got involved throughout the game and shot at goal once before his withdrawal just after the hour.Aubameyang has now failed to hit the target with any of his shots in his last three starts — away at Aston Villa and in home games versus Manchester United and Arsenal — with his attempts on target coming in games in which he has been introduced off the bench against Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion.While it could an anomaly, it is one to note nonetheless with Graham Potter struggling already in the Chelsea job.
Osimhen proved his worth in Napoli’s comeback win at Atalanta, a 2-1 result that saw Luciano Spalletti’s men claim a ninth straight win in Serie A.The Super Eagle had a hand in all three goals on Saturday, penalised for his handball in the box (and the resulting 19th-minute penalty was converted by Ademola Lookman), equalising four minutes later and assisting Eljif Elmas 10 minutes from half-time.Osimhen has now contributed 10 goals for the Partenopei who have a six-point lead in Serie A.
