TalkSport pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has slammed Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for his recent performances, saying they don’t justify his wages.
The Gabonese forward was always a reliable source of goals for the Gunners in previous seasons, as he scored more than 20 goals in both of his first full campaigns at the Emirates Stadium.
However, since signing his new deal in the summer of 2020, his performances have slipped as he didn’t reach that mark last season and has only scored 4 so far this campaign, while he was named on the bench for the second time this season as the Gunners fell to a late defeat at Everton.
Speaking about the Gunners forward on TalkSport, Agbonlahor claimed that for the money Arsenal are paying him, he should be producing numbers akin to Mohamed Salah at Liverpool, before hinting that there might be something wrong behind the scenes that saw him dropped to the bench.
He said: “I think Arsenal are definitely getting sold short. I mean, if he’s on £300k a week, if I’m an Arsenal fan, I want Salah’s numbers, I want Salah’s goals and assist – they’re not getting that, are they?
“Something’s not right there, maybe [Mikel Arteta] didn’t start Aubameyang because he’d been in poor form, maybe his body language hasn’t been right so he’s thought, ‘let me bring the youngster on in front of you’. It’s worrying times, isn’t it?”
TIF Thoughts on Gabriel Agbonlahor’s comments about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Arsenal…
Is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still Arsenal’s best striker?
Yes
No
You can certainly see where Agbonlahor is coming from here when it comes to Aubameyang and his lack of value for money. Arsenal have scored 18 goals so far in their 15 games – fewer than five bottom-half clubs. And whilst Arsenal are in better form since their poor start to the season, Aubameyang hasn’t been making the same big leaps forward.
And when you consider what he is being paid, with some reports suggesting that his salary is even more than the £300k per week mentioned by Agbonlahor, it does seem like he should be producing a lot more than what he has been this season.
He is about to enter the last 18 months of his deal when January comes around, and the Gunners probably should consider trying to sell him, even if they have to pay a percentage of his salary whilst he’s at another club just to free up some sort of space financially.
Whilst he has been good for them previously, it might be time to cut loose and use that money elsewhere to build for the future rather than hanging onto the past.
In other news: ‘Arsenal are looking at’ – Charles Watts tips AFC to pursue target who’s ‘looking for a move’