Mikel Arteta has admitted that his players are focused on how they can prevent Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from scoring as Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge.
Aubameyang joined Chelsea from Barcelona in August, a little over seven months after he had completed an acrimonious departure away from the north London side which included a high-profile falling out with Arteta.
The Gabonese attacker faces Arsenal for the first time since leaving the club this afternoon and his role in the fixture has been much-discussed after featuring in a controversial BT Sport advert ahead of the game.
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However, Arteta has played down any potential rift and acknowledges the threat that his former captain provides. "He’s proved over many years his goal-scoring threat," he told BT Sport. "So we know we have to be aware of that.
"For us, our attention is with our players."
With Aubameyang known to be a confident figure who has immense faith in his ability, former Arsenal stalwart Martin Keown backed the 33-year-old to get one over on his previous employers.
Keown admitted: "He’s going to be desperate to score the winning goal. He’s already declared, ‘don’t take it personally’. He knows he’s going to score.
"He’s got that mentality to finish things off. When he left Arsenal, he was far from finished, he went to Barcelona and secured their Champions League [ticket] effectively.
"There was disappointment amongst the fans but everyone respected the manager. Today, he gets a chance to correct things."
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