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Aubameyang's Liverpool curse and his top six record Klopp will hope to continue

  /  autty

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one of the most feared attackers in the Premier League.

The Arsenal forward shared the Golden Boot with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane last term.

The Gabon international has already bagged two in the opening two matches of his 2019/20 campaign and next up he is set to travel to Anfield to face the Reds.

However, it is here where it looks like his early purple patch could come to an end.

Aubameyang might have scored once against Liverpool for Borussia Dortmund in the thrilling 4-3 game at Anfield in April 2016 but since his move to the Premier League in 2018 goals against major opposition have dried up.

The Gunners attacker has only scored three times in 13 games against fellow 'big six' teams in the domestic league - averaging a goal every 356 minutes.

That's a poor return for a threatening forward and he will of course be out to improve those statistics this term but it looks like he will be in for a task when he faces Liverpool because in the six times he has faced the Reds in his career - two each with Lille, Dortmund and Arsenal - Aubameyang has never been on the winning side and has been kept very quiet on several occasions too.

At Anfield with Lille he was on the end of a 3-0 defeat, with Dortmund a 4-3 loss and with Arsenal it was a 5-1 demolition by Jurgen Klopp's men.

Last season he had just 13 touches in Liverpool's 5-1 victory at Anfield in December before being substituted off in the 71st minute - and six of those touches were from kick-off.

It's clear then the place he has to come to on Saturday is not a place he enjoys and to compound that, Aubameyang has scored 31 times in 38 Premier League games against non-big-six sides - almost averaging a goal a game by scoring every 94 minutes - so clearly finds himself more at home by playing the so-called flat-track bully rather than strutting his stuff against the likes of the European champions.

This is completely not to say that he is incapable of scoring against big opposition but more to highlight where the goals to back up his talent come from.

That might be because teams like Liverpool are well-equipped to nullify Aubameyang's threat while having the tactical nous to snuff out the danger he can no doubt create.

And it will therefore be an intriguing battle to see how the Reds set up against a dangerous Arsenal attack with Aubameyang likely to lead the line while great interest will also come from seeing how the attacker copes with the imperious Virgil van Dijk - a task he has had to contend with twice before with limited success.

It is by no means an easy feat to keep Aubameyang quiet, it is a credit to Liverpool that they have achieved this in the past and it is a trend the Liverpool will look to continue on Saturday night with every sign pointing to the fact they may well do.