It proved to be yet another frustrating evening on home soil for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who failed to score for the third successive game at Camp Nou as Barcelona fell to a 1-0 defeat against Rayo Vallecano.
Xavi Hernandez's side failed to capitalise on Atletico Madrid's goalless draw with Granada but remain in second in La Liga ahead of the final five games of the season. Real Madrid are the current league leaders and sit 15 points clear at the top, with Sevilla, Real Betis and Real Sociedad making up the top-six.
However, Barcelona's failure to score at home once again is concerning, especially after they fell to a 1-0 loss against relegation-threatened Cadiz earlier in the month. In contrast, Xavi's men have been sensational away and haven't lost on their travels since January, recording seven victories in 10 matches.
A factor behind their away form is Aubayemang's incredible hot-streak, with the 32-year-old forward scoring nine times in his opening nine Barcelona games on the road. This includes a hat-trick at Valencia and goals against Real Madrid, Napoli and Galatasaray.
He has only failed to score in two away games - a 2-2 draw at city rivals Espanyol where he came on as a second-half substitute and in the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt. At home, Aubameyang has netted just twice in nine matches. It is a pretty impressive record considering he was much better at the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal.
In actual fact, 67% of Aubameyang's goals for the Gunners came either at home or at Wembley Stadium. 57 of his 92 goals in an Arsenal shirt were scored at the Emirates, while he grabbed a brace in the semi-final and the final of the FA Cup when they won the competition back in August 2020.
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The Gabonese striker failed to score during the first-half of the season away from home in the Premier League as Arsenal struggled for a regular goalscorer. Alexandre Lacazette has failed to fill his void, scoring just six times in all competitions this season and Eddie Nketiah hasn't quite made the impact some Gunners fans may have hoped despite netting twice at Chelsea.
But Aubameyang did strike four times on home turf after scoring against Norwich City, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace - earning the Gunners some important points in the process. He missed some guilt-edge opportunities to add further goals to his tally, however, missing a penalty at home to Watford and Villa.
It didn't particularly look like he was going to find the net away, though, and would often be on the periphery, rather than in the box ready to score goals and making intelligent runs in-behind. Aubameyang registered a blank at Burnley, Brighton & Hove Albion, Leicester City amongst others earlier this season.
With Aubameyang much improved on the road for Barcelona, it is a trend that may surprise some people, especially Arsenal supporters after previously putting up some horrendous statistics in away games. The Catalan giants are next in action when they host Mallorca this weekend, with Aubameyang eyeing a return to the scoresheet.
