Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ended speculation over his future and reassured the Arsenal faithful by signing a new three year deal on Tuesday.

This will no doubt come as a big relief to Mikel Arteta who played a key role in convincing his star man to sign the new contract.

The former Borussia Dortmund forward's value to the club has continued to grow, since his arrival in January 2018.

Finding a replacement of similar quality would have been near impossible, especially in this market and especially as Arsenal look to build in other areas and explains why despite his age, he has been given such a bumper contract.

Can't stop scoring

Aubameyang arrived at Arsenal with a reputation as a lethal goal scorer having struck the net 98 times in 144 Bundesliga appearances while playing in Dortmund, but no one expected him to be as good as he has become at Arsenal.

In his 111 appearances for the club he has managed to score an impressive 72 goals.

These numbers are something any top striker would be proud of, let alone one who hasn't always played as the central striker.

Arteta has preferred using him on the left and yet his eye for goal hasn't stopped, even allowing him to create a trademark finish, where he controls a cross-field ball, cuts in from the left and finishes in the top right corner, something seen against both Liverpool and Fulham.

The Premier League is a tough league to adapt to, but the Gabonese International has taken to it with no issues.

In his first full season he managed to claim the Premier League Golden Boot.

In July of this year he reached the 50 goal mark in the Premier League in 79 appearances, the sixth fastest in the competition's history and the fastest in Arsenal's, even ahead of club legend Theirry Henry.

The consistency rate of Aubameyang is unbelievable having hit the 20 goal mark in each of his last five seasons, something which across Europe's top five leagues, has only been achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.

That stat is even more impressive if you consider that for two and half seasons he has been playing in a mediocre Arsenal side without Champions League football.

His impact is so precious to the red half of North London simply because he doesn't just score goals, he wins games.

No other player since his arrival has won more points through goals scored than he has, with 54 of his league goals securing 43 points, thus proving the sheer importance of his lethal finishing to this Arsenal team.

Captain Fantastic

When Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy near the end of 2019, it surprised many when it was announced that Aubameyang would be filling the role and even more so when Arteta decided to retain him in the role.

However, though he may not fit the so-called traditional mold of a captain, his influence at the club is unquestionable to all the players and staff alike.

Just by viewing his social media and his interactions with all the players, not to mention his infectious laugh, it is plain to see why he is such a respected man.

His example as a player provides a perfect role model for the team to follow, especially for the younger players with whom he has good friendships, even on a personal level.

You probably won't see Aubameyang barking orders on the pitch but his leadership qualities simply come from his character which is enough to motivate his team-mates to perform.

Project Rebuild

Arteta clearly rates his captain very highly to have pushed so hard for him to stay and will see him as his main man in the push to get Arsenal back in the Champions League and back to competing for the Premier League title once again.

Knowing he has a world-class striker to rely on for goals will allow the Arsenal manager to address areas which need improving most, such as in midfield with the likes of Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar being linked with a move.

If the Gunners can make the right moves in this transfer window, then they might then have that final bit of quality needed to make a real push for the top four and with Aubameyang hungry for more goals, his role in this new Arsenal team will be more important than any other season.