Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Arsenal Captain Reveals Full Extent Of Malaria Scare And Opens Up On His Difficult Season

Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has revealed his family were left scared by his weight loss after he contracted malaria while on international duty in March.

The Gabon forward missed four games following the diagnosis after a feeling of lethargy left him questioning the cause.

He returned off the bench in the Europa League semi-final first-leg defeat to Villarreal last week and is in line to start the return game, having scored in Sunday's Premier League win at Newcastle.

But the 31-year-old has only now revealed how a significant drop in weight and change in mood had him and his close ones worried about his health. Aubameyang played in Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Liverpool without knowing he was ill.

"I was feeling just normal, a bit down - I thought that it was the travel," he said.

"As you know, going to Gabon is not so close to here. I felt just a bit tired, especially against Liverpool, but I thought it was just because of the travel.

"I was feeling very, very bad. This was the worst moment of being sick in my life, it was really hard.

"I had three days in a row, fever, all day and all night, non-stop. Even the paracetamol and stuff had no effects on this. After that, I spoke to the doctor.

"I said I needed to go to the hospital because I had travelled to Africa so maybe it was something like malaria.

"I stayed in hospital for three days. I was really, really down and I think I lost four kilograms. It was a really bad moment and I think my family was a bit scared to see me like this.

"I had some good treatment, it worked well, the doctors and the hospital. I am lucky I got treatment at the right moment, if you don't treat it quickly it can lead to big problems"

The Arsenal captain says he is now mentally, and almost physically, ready to make the difference for Arsenal as they look to overturn a 2-1 first-leg defeat to Villarreal on Thursday.

He added: "In my mind, I feel more than 100 per cent but physically maybe I am not. Hopefully my body will respond as well but definitely in my mind I am ready."