Arsenal journalist Charles Watts has given his thoughts on forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash.
Having got off to a rather troubling start this season – the worst in the club’s history, in fact – Mikel Arteta’s men have managed to turn things around and entered the most recent round of Premier League matches sitting fifth in the table after having lost only one league game from September to November.
The Gabonese forward Aubameyang did play his part in that run, scoring four goals and chipping in with one assist, but hasn’t managed to find the back of the net in the past four games, which included a howler from point-blank range against Newcastle United this past weekend – something Arteta addressed in his press conference ahead of their game with Manchester United.
It caused Watts, who was speaking on his YouTube channel, to wonder whether or not the 32-year-old would be dropped in favour of Alexandre Lacazette, stating that whilst he expects Aubameyang to keep his place, he didn’t totally rule out the idea of a change.
He said: “There is a possibility that Lacazette could just come in for Aubameyang at the moment. He does look very short on confidence – he’s not just not scoring, he’s missing big chances at the moment. And that’s not a good sign.
“Personally, I think Auba still will start on Thursday night, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t, and he has scored on each of his last two visits to Old Trafford as well, scored the winner last season, scored the equaliser the year before in the 1-1 draw. So he’s got good memories of playing at Old Trafford. I think he probably will keep his place this time around.”
TIF Thoughts on Charles Watts’ comments about Aubameyang and Lacazette at Arsenal…
Is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still Arsenal’s best striker?
Yes
No
Following his recent run of form, you can certainly see the argument to suggest why Aubameyang might be dropped in favour of Lacazette, although in truth, the Frenchman hasn’t done much better this season, as he’s only managed to bag one goal in the league, with his other two goals coming in the League Cup against lower-league opposition in AFC Wimbledon and West Bromwich Albion.
Given how they are performing so far this season, it is probably still best to stick with Aubameyang out of the two, however, perhaps there is another person that the Gabonese forward should be wary of, and that’s Gabriel Martinelli.
Whilst naturally a winger, the Brazilian has played more centrally before, showing his effectiveness with seven goals in 12 appearances there, and showed against Newcastle that he has got that finisher’s instinct with a classy finish for the game’s second, so there certainly are options for Arteta to choose from if Aubameyang doesn’t pick up his form soon.
In other news: ‘Mikel must be thinking’ – Charles Watts claims player is ‘beginning to cost’ Arsenal