Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not a combination that can work

It just is not working with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Playing with two centre forwards who are prolific or reputable should be one of the most ingenious things a team can do especially when they need all the goals they can get, but that setup doesn’t always work that is why very few teams use them.

When Arsenal signed Pierre Emerick Aubameyang last year, I was excited to see the Gabonese join my darling team, but that excitement quickly disappeared when I remembered that we already had an accomplished goal scorer in Alexandre Lacazette.

He remains one of our most important signings in recent seasons, but his partnership with Lacazette hasn’t worked, to the best of my knowledge.

Lacazette is an out-and-out striker and Aubameyang is always at his lethal best when plays as a centre forward too.

In his bid to play them together, Unai Emery usually played Aubameyang on the wing, while he has delivered at times by cutting inside, he has netted more times when he played through the middle.

Lacazette is a natural finisher and one of my favourite players when we play at home, but he can hardly play in any position apart from the centre forward.

I can only imagine how difficult it has been for managers to fit them both into a starting eleven and I believed that Arsenal plays better when we start with just one of them, preferably Aubameyang.

My suggestion for ideal an Arsenal attack would be to get a new Left Wing Forward that would play from the left-wing, play Aubameyang as the centre forward and Nicolas Pepe as the Right Wing Forward.

An opinion piece from Gooner Steve

19 Comments

  1. At a time when we are urgently needing a quality DM and CB, why would we look for a “left wing forward” when we already have Martinelli,Saka, Nelson and in Pepe, a natural left footer?.

    1. Totally agree, as we are going into another transfer window we have to aim for purchasing defensive midfielders & more than one central defender!!!!! ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽🥅🥅🥅🥅🥅🥅🥅🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

    2. You’re right Grandad, we have neglected the CB and DM positions for years and look at us now. Every top team has strong foundations, ours is built on straw. With quality youngsters like Martinelli, Pepe, Tierney and Leno there is hope for the future but it is imperative we sort out our defence soon or we will lose them.

  2. We quite simply need wide players that can dribble by opponents. Pepe and Martinelli need to be in the side then, and only one striker up top. Lacazette hasn’t really picked up form at all this season since initially becoming injured. Auba has negatives and postives. Obviously the positive is his goal scoring record, but other parts of his game are lacking at times. The fact the team is set up poorly in midfield doesnt help I imagine.

  3. Lacca and auba obviously works, people have short memories, its all down to how they are played and who is around them.

    1. That is so correct. The fault is not of the two players themselves but of the tactical set up and players around them who can can make the runs and feed them, they will both find the net. Our previous manager set up the team tactically to pass the ball backwards and sideways, with no quality midfield players to feed them, Lacazette and Auboumyang were starved of service for most of the games they played together. Which is why ultimately he was sacked. Your article is not properly researched and lacking in data to support your comments

    2. The setup is always wrong whenever they were played together. its either narrow formation that force them to be the width with no service from the midfield or a formation that Auba has to play LW.

  4. They are the most potent duo in the Prem when used together effectively. A good manager would cultivate this partnership and stabilize the side with a solid system and consistent starting 11. We just got rid of Emery and already people are starting to emulate him with suggestions we strengthen the team where we need it least and continuously tinker with the side and deny the team the stability and understanding they need for success. Stop it already.

    1. Auba isn’t signing a new contract, Laca has been out of form for months as well as injured. What worked last season doesn’t necessarily work the next season. I agree we dont need to spend in that area tho and should just focus on getting better midfielders and defenders.

  5. Auba and Laca don’t need to play together at all.
    Strikers can be just rotated game by game.
    Half the time Lacazette is injured any way
    Jesus and Aguero are usually just rotated.
    Kane and Moura usually rotate.
    Rashford and Martial don’t combine very well.
    Vardy usually plays as alone striker.
    If it works good if not no problem

  6. Would work in a 3/5/2 formation
    Leno
    Chambers/sokratis/Luiz
    Pepe/ Torreira/ guendozi/Ozil/martinelli
    Aubameyang/ laca

  7. Transfers I would make for the summer
    -If the rumours of Real Madrid wanting Auba for Jovic & cash we must take it. Or try to get Jovic and Cellabos (no cash)
    -Sell Laca for $50+m to fund a Zaha transfer.
    -Sell Xhaka (& Torreira if he wants to leave) to anyone to fund a Partey transfer.
    -Buy Upamencano.

    Leno
    Bellerin Upamencano Salilba Tierney
    Partey Guendozi
    Zaha Cellabos Pepe
    Jovic

    1. Roshan, why this obsession with Zaha, when Arsenal has Martinelli? His scoring record is better than Zaha’s. Zaha would take transfer funds which should be directed at DM and CB upgrades and would stunt the development of Martinelli, Nelson Nketiah and Saha.

  8. The problem is not that Auba and Laca can not play in the same lineup but the setup and the players around them. Both have to be played as the central strikers and not in the crappy narrow formation they have been playing lately. The team is not playing with natural wingers on both sides when both Laca and Auba is in the lineup; which force them to provide the width and they are not good at that. Both Laca and Auba have to fend for themselves because our current midfielders are bad. There are only few formation that allows both to play well in the same lineup but that will sacrifice the already fragile midfield. 422 can be good for them with pepe and martinelli providing width but we dont have good personnel in Midfield to get this working.

  9. We have to work with what we have. They have partnered many times over the last couple of seasons and worked well, and got us out of trouble.
    Play Abu up top with laca sitting behind. Or abandon the width and play all 3 (pepe) as a diamond front 3.could it hurt

  10. Is there a modern team that successfully uses two strikers? It could be that I’m not paying enough attention but I believe there aren’t anymore. I agree that we don’t have the midfield that could work well in a 442 or 4312. Being that we can’t buy players on a whim, I’d sell Auba in January as soon as the window opens, regardless of him being our lord and saviour from the perils of relegation. I believe having a top CB would bring more points than having two top CFs. This season proves it. Even if Laca scores significantly less goals than Auba did, we should stop conceding as much and that alone will help us a great deal.
    Sell Auba for 70 million euro, get the best possible defender, and if there’s anything else left, buy a prospect midfielder. OR, sell Xhaka in January and buy a solid Ramseyesque midfielder.

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