Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang targets emulating Thierry Henry after completing Arsenal move

KEY POINTS

The Gabon international apologises to Borussia Dortmund fans for the manner of his departure.
Aubameyang's move to north London triggers Olivier Giroud's switch to Chelsea.

Arsenal new boy Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has the bold ambition of emulating record-scorer Thierry Henry after completing his move to The Emirates Stadium from Borussia Dortmund.

The Gunners confirmed the £56m [BBC Sport] addition of the Gabon international with just hours to go in the January transfer window, triggering the departure of Olivier Giroud to Chelsea.

Aubameyang arrives at Arsenal with a reputation for being one of the deadliest strikers in world football. During five years with the Bundesliga giants he plundered 141 goals, and is third only to Michael Zorc and Manfred Burgemuller in the list of all-time Dortmund marksman.

And having now arrived at Arsenal amid much fanfare, the 28-year-old has set himself the target of matching the impact made by Henry, who across two spells in north London achieved legendary status by netting 228 times.

"The club has such a big history and great players like Thierry Henry," Aubamayang told the Arsenal website in response to being quizzed on his reason for moving. "He's an example for us strikers. I'm really happy, like I said before.

"He was fast and scored a lot of goals. He's really an example. I think I have to work a lot to be like him, but I will do. I'm a fast player and I score goals too, like Henry a little bit. But as I said, I have to work a lot more."

The twilight of an otherwise successful spell at Dortmund was overshadowed by a series of disciplinary problems for Aubameyang, who was suspended by the club for the game against Wolfsburg earlier this month for missing a team meeting.

He also missed the clash with Hertha Berlin after becoming distracted by speculation regarding his future and the forward had apologised for his behaviour, though admits he wanted to leave Westfalenstadion last summer.

Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool were all linked with his services in the off-season but Aubameyang stayed in Germany, where he has netted 21 times during the first half of the campaign.

Zuerst einmal sorry fÃ¼r alles, was im letzten Monat geschehen ist. Aber ich wollte schon letzten Sommer wechseln, da klappte es nicht, aber jetzt musste es sein. Vielleicht war es nicht der beste Weg fÃ¼r den ich mich entschieden habe, aber jeder weiÃŸ, dass Auba verrÃ¼ckt ist - und ja, ich bin ein verrÃ¼ckter Junge, hahahaha! Ich habe Fehler gemacht, aber nie in bÃ¶ser Absicht. Ich werde diese viereinhalb Jahre bei Borussia Dortmund nie vergessen, weil ihr alle mir die Kraft fÃ¼r das Level gegeben habt, auf dem ich jetzt bin. Ich Danke der ganzen BVB Familie, den Fans, dem Klub, dem Staff und natÃ¼rlich meinen Mitspielern! Euer Auba17 !!! ðŸ–ðŸ½
A post shared by Aubameyang (@aubameyang97) on Jan 31, 2018 at 7:39am PST

"First of all sorry for everything that happened in the last month," he wrote on Instagram. "But I wanted to change last summer, it did not work, but now it had to be.

"Maybe it was not the best way I chose, but everyone knows that Auba is crazy - and yes, I'm a crazy kid, hahahaha! I've made mistakes, but never with malice.

"I will never forget these four-and-a-half years at Borussia Dortmund, because you all gave me the strength for the level I am now. Thanks to the whole BVB family, the fans, the club, the staff and of course my teammates!"