"Mestalla is like my home" - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reacts after scoring first hattrick for Barcelona

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has hit the ground running at Barcelona. The Gabonese striker joined Barcelona in the winter transfer window and has already scored a hat-trick for the club.

He scored three goals against Valencia on Sunday to mark his arrival at the club. Blaugrana fans are delighted with this signing as their struggle to find a world class striker seems to have come to an end.

Aubameyang took to social media after his sensational performance against Valencia.

The former Arsenal captain said:

“First hat-trick and I hope many more. Let's go.”

He also went on to speak with the media post the match and spoke about his previous hat-trick against Valencia in May 2019 in the Europa League.

He said:

“The last time I played here I scored a hat-trick with Arsenal. I like playing here... Mestalla is like my home.”

The 32-year-old left Arsenal after falling out with Mikel Arteta, the club’s manager. Aubameyang was stripped of the captaincy after certain disciplinary issues at the club and was separated from the Arsenal first team.

He failed to make a return to the starting squad after these controversial circumstances surrounded the player. Since his career at Arsenal seemed to have taken a turn for the worse, the Gabonese decided to leave the club.

Arsenal are in search for a new striker after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Barcelona on a free transfer

Pierre-Emerick Aubayang in action for Barcelona

Arsenal made several attempts to sign a replacement for their main striker in the winter transfer window itself but failed to realize any of their targets. Dusan Vlahovic was at the top of the club’s transfer wish list but the Serbian snubbed Arsenal to complete a move to Juventus instead.

Arsenal will now shift their focus to the summer transfer window. They already have players like Alexander Isak and Jonathan David lined up as targets for the upcoming summer transfer window.

Arsenal are in a very dangerous position having lost Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang already. The contracts of both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah expire in the summer and it will be very interesting to see how Arsenal deal with this situation.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is another striker who is rumored to have caught the interest of Arsenal and may make a move for several of their targets depending upon the contract situation of others at the club.

The Gabonese striker was allowed to move to Barcelona for free after Arsenal agreed to terminate his contract at the club. Aubameyang was struggling in north London, but it may be time for a new chapter in his career.

The striker started strong for Barcelona, scoring a hat-trick in his fourth appearance for the club. The 32-year-old will hope to continue this form and quickstart his career in its final stages.