Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has said "sometimes people forget" about his off-field issues after being subjected to boos on his return to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
The Gabonese striker spent four years with the Gunners, including a spell as captain. He left under a cloud, though, with manager Mikel Arteta stripping him of the armband before sanctioning a departure to Barcelona.
Aubameyang then left Camp Nou to join Chelsea, and Arteta urged supporters not to boo the 33-year-old when he returned to North London with his new club. Some failed to comply, though, and the Chelsea man has opened up on Instagram after receiving messages of support from Blues fans.
"Honestly feel so bad for him," one Twitter user wrote of Aubameyang. "Always positive, almost lost his mother, caught malaria, toxic end at Arsenal, went to Barca and got his house robbed, now gone to Chelsea and not playing at all, was made fun of at Stamford Bridge by our players and now booed by fans that he loved."
The message was shared on Instagram by a fan with the caption "no matter what I'll always love you @auba". The frontman replied: "You know sometimes people forget what's the real life and forget about how you can't control what's gonna happened [sic]."
Before the game, Arteta had urged home supporters to remember the good times, including an FA Cup win and a Europa League final. “Let's say thank you, pay respect and gratitude for what he was," the Spaniard said. "He was an incredible player for us, scored a lot of goals, he was our captain, and he deserves that.”
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Aubameyang started in one of a number of changes made by Lampard. He only managed 45 minutes, though, with the Blues 3-0 down at the break after two goals from Martin Odegaard and one from Gabriel Jesus.
Lampard's team pulled a goal back after the break through January signing Noni Madueke, but they weren't able to add to it. The result leaves Chelsea in 12th, 39 points behind Tuesday's opponents.
"Not good enough first half, that's what confirms the result," Lampard told Match of the Day after a defeat which leaves him winless since replacing Graham Potter in the Chelsea dugout in April. "Much better second half, but not good enough first half.
"We were too nice to play against in all aspects in the first half. In the second half, we played much more like a team that has a threat up top. In the first half, we were too easy to play against. It's tough because you want to win games, but it's our job, we'll work on it."
