Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the closest thing Arsenal have had to Thierry Henry since the Frenchman left the club in 2007, according to former Gunners defender Martin Keown.

Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by Sporting in the Europa League on Thursday as Aubameyang – who came on after just 30 minutes due to a serious ankle injury suffered by Danny Welbeck – missed several good chances to win the match for his side.

Keown is a huge fan of Aubameyang’s talent, but believes Arsenal need to push him to consistently make the same level of impact as their all-time record goalscorer.

Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Show all 12 1 /12 Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Petr Cech - 6 The Arsenal goalkeeper didn’t have a lot to do tonight. That’s always nice, but at the same time, he’s unlikely to have done enough to dislodge Bernd Leno as Unai Emery’s first choice goalkeeper. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Stephan Lichtsteiner - 7 Lichtsteiner had a fairly lively evening before hobbling off with what looked like a hamstring injury in the second half. Yet another full-back injury for Unai Emery. PA Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Rob Holding - 6 The young centre-back continues to impress for the Gunners. Everything he did was cool, calm and collected. PA Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Sokratis Papastathopoulos - 6 An assured performance from the Greek international, who has just returned from injury. It will be interesting to see if Shkodran Mustafi comes into the side again this weekend. REUTERS Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Carl Jenkinson - 6 There were a couple of comedy efforts on goal from the full-back, but he didn’t do a lot wrong. Was given a nice ovation when replaced by Sead Kolasinac in the second half. Getty Images Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Aaron Ramsey - 6 The Welshman was used in in a more withdrawn midfield role tonight. He did some good defensive work at times but the Arsenal fans weren’t happy with his offensive contributions in the closing stages. Action Images via Reuters Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Matteo Guendouzi - 7 Matteo Guendouzi is an impressive young player. He was one of the Gunners’ standout players again here and looks like he’s been playing for Arsenal for years. REUTERS Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 6 Another relatively underwhelming performance from the Armenian. Alex Iwobi may be in line to replace him in Unai Emery’s Premier League starting XI. Getty Images Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Emile Smith Rowe - 6 The youngster gave another good account of himself playing as a second striker at the Emirates. Getty Images Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Alex Iwobi - 6 This wasn’t Iwobi’s best performance but you can tell he’s playing with more confidence than he was towards the end of last season. Action Images via Reuters Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Danny Welbeck - 5 Welbeck was busy before being stretchered off with a nasty looking injury in the first half. REUTERS Arsenal vs Sporting player ratings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 6 Failed to make the sort of impact you’d expect from a player of his calibre. Missed a good opportunity to win the game for the Gunners with a free-kick late on. Getty Images

“He is the closest thing to Thierry Henry that I have seen since he left the club, he really is that good,” Keown said of Aubameyang on BT Sport.

“Someone in his camp should be pushing him on, dragging that performance out of him because he is a special talent, he scores lots of goals and it’s just a hunger get him to boiling point. I don’t think he was there tonight.”

Aubameyang has registered nine goals and one assist in 15 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions this season, but he failed to find his killer touch against Sporting – though defender Jeremy Mathieu was shown a straight red card for bringing the striker down as he raced through on goal.

Aubameyang could not find his scoring touch against Sporting (Getty Images)

“Aubameyang really let them down a bit in front of goal, if only he had taken his chances… He’s a player who I rate really very highly,” Keown added. “He was taken off against Liverpool and he didn’t seem happy with that.

“With the [Welbeck] injury, it caught him out more than anyone else, he wasn’t ready mentally and I think on another night he would have put these chances away.

“Mkhitaryan is a player who really looks out for him, they seem to have a telepathic link-up – he just knows these balls are coming, when you see it from another angle it should be a goal. It didn’t quite come off for him.”

Fellow BT Sport pundit Joe Cole agreed with Keown’s assessment, saying that Aubameyang needs to hold himself to a higher standard if he wants to do justice to his ability.

“He is so talented, he has such good physical attributes but he needs senior players pushing him on telling him how good he can be,” Cole said. “His goalscoring record is good but he sort of flits in and out of games.