The routine among Gabonese football fans when Arsenal are playing is for groups of people to message each other by phone to arrange a communal place to watch, bring themselves a beer or two, and prepare to be thrilled. In the closing stages of the most recent Premier League match against Bournemouth, there were shrieks from gatherings across the country as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang connected with the ball late in the game. They were ready to explode. They couldn’t wait to honour his 50th goal for Arsenal.



“Every time he gets the ball, there is so much excitement,” enthuses Charles Stephane Mavoungou, a journalist with Tele Africa. “When he hit this shot against Bournemouth, everyone was already screaming in celebration.” It took a while for some to notice the ball didn’t actually go in but rebounded off the post. For once this season, Aubemyang’s radar was fractionally off.



Back in Gabon, the opportunity is now on...