Rio Ferdinand On The 'Unbelievable' Arsenal Star He Wishes That Manchester United Had Signed

Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he wished Manchester United had signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as he called the Arsenal striker a "top, top player and a ridiculous finisher."

Aubameyang, 31, was in fine form for Arsenal in the last two seasons as he scored 22 times in the Premier League in each respective campaign.

But the former Borussia Dortmund striker, who signed for the Gunners in January 2018, has struggled to replicate his form this season.

Aubameyang has made 17 appearances across all competitions and only scored five times for Arsenal.

Ferdinand, 42, has revealed that he is shocked at how Aubameyang's form has fallen as the Gunners struggled earlier this season.

However, the former United star insisted that Aubameyang is the player he wished the Red Devils had snapped up before Arsenal did.

Speaking on the FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand said: "What is the problem with Aubameyang?

"How has he gone from being one of the most potent strikers in the Premier League if not in Europe, to what he's doing now?

"How's that happened? It's not the Aubameyang I know. I don't know how Arsenal fans are defending him.

"That is the biggest thing for Mikel Arteta, the biggest thing Arteta needs to do right now is to get him playing again.

"He's got all these young, exciting prospects, you just want Aubameyang there around doing his stuff as well.

"I love Aubameyang, I think he is an unbelievable player who I would love in my team.

"I would have loved Manchester United to buy him before he went to Arsenal, I think he's a top, top player and a ridiculous finisher.

"What he did last season was unrivalled, but this season Arsenal need him firing, ASAP."

Mikel Arteta's men have won their last three Premier League matches and are currently 11th in the table.

The Arsenal boss has defended Aubameyang over his goalscoring form, saying that the Gunners can't put their weight on the Gabon international's shoulders.

"We can't keep putting all the weight on Auba's shoulders to score the goals," Arteta said.

"We need contributions. The midfielders need to score more and give more assists, and we need goals from our wingers as well.

"Laca [Alexandre Lacazette] is in great form and has scored five goals in his last four games, which is what we need from our strikers."

Featured Image Credit: FIVE/PA

Topics: gunners, Manchester United, red devils, Premier League, Rio Ferdinand, Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9