Time for Aubameyang to take central role

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang

Time for Aubameyang to take central role

By Paul Martin

The statistics speak for themselves. 

Arsenal have not scored a Premier League goal in open play for more than a month. Against Aston Villa, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang – who has scored 56 times in 85 league starts since arriving in North London in 2018 – did not have an attempt on goal. It was the third time Arsenal’s talisman has not mustered a shot in a Premier League game this season and the first time it has ever happened in a league game at The Emirates. 

To suggest moving the Gabon international from the left wing into a central role would solve Arsenal's problems at a stroke would be misguided. But it has to be worth a go. 

Aubameyang is this team's best player and most feared attacking threat. Yet he has scored just twice in the Premier League this season and hasn't found the net from open play since the opening day victory at Fulham. 

His finish at Craven Cottage – cutting inside before bending a beautiful strike into the far corner – was evidence of what he can provide from the left flank. But since then, he has found himself on the fringes of games and not displaying the quality he is so clearly capable of. 

Moving him inside would be a harder case to make if Arsenal had a central striker who was bang in form. With three goals in the first three games of the season, Alexandre Lacazette was that man – but he's not at the moment. 

The Frenchman has not found the net since September and has been guilty of spurning golden opportunities in the recent home defeats against Leicester and Aston Villa. Eddie Nketiah is promising but still raw – the obvious choice is to try the one genuinely world-class attacking player at Arsenal's disposal. 

With Willian misfiring on the right, Mikel Arteta is currently operating with a front three who are all out of form and the results are plain to see, with Arsenal's bluntness in front of goal holding them back in mid-table. 

The contrast between the two attacks on show on Sunday was particularly stark. While Arsenal had a front three of gifted internationals who looked disinterested, Aston Villa's vibrant trio of Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley and Ollie Watkins were superb. 

Creative on the ball with intelligent movement off it, they were the polar opposite of Arsenal as an attacking force. For that to be the case against a side who were only promoted two seasons ago is humiliating but it is a sign of the times for an Arsenal side who are looking up at Villa in the table. 

Watkins' brace, meanwhile, means he has now scored more Premier League goals at the Emirates this season than Aubameyang, Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe – sometimes the forgotten man when it comes to Arsenal's attacking options having flattered to deceive since his arrival last summer – put together. 

And though too much can perhaps be read into xG (expected goals), Aubameyang's individual tally for the season has not exceeded 0.12 since the victory at Fulham. That is clearly a sign of a system which is not getting the best out of him. 

"It's a team function and a collective thing we have to do more with the end product," Arteta said when asked about Aubameyang's recent form. 

"Of course, we can talk about if he's in the right or wrong place but he was scoring before. We need to maintain the numbers we had defensively in our organisation and we have to improve our attacking numbers if we want to compete with the big teams." 

'He was scoring before' is true but it almost misses the point. He is not scoring now. And he can go through games, such as Sunday, without even looking like doing so. 

What is there to lose? It is time for Arteta to shake up his attack to try and get the best out of his most talented frontman.

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