Despite the fact that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was Arsenal’s top scorer for many years, it has been a general feeling that he is just a goal-poacher and has never helped out with his defensive duties.
After he finally signed his contract extension, he seemed to be even less effective and I don’t suppose Covid and malaria helped him much, and when your captain is fined for ill-discipline, then you know you have a problem. And when Lacazette ended as our top scorer then the fans began to question Auba’s shiny new expensive contract.
This season didn’t start too well either, with the covid problem, but Auba came back for half and hour against Chelsea, and a hat-trick against West Brom’s youths helped him on road to full fitness.
He had an hour in the ill-fated game at Manchester City, but since then he has scored 4 goals in our 6 game unbeaten run, and has started to look like a real leader. As Arteta said yesterday on Arsenal.com: “I have never seen Auba transmit what he is doing now,”
“Apart from the goals, the celebration when they put the ball in the net, do you see the way he runs? The purpose he has to press the ball, and when he takes it his movement, his link, how is leading the game – that is when he is changing the rest, not when he is static and then he puts the ball in the net. I prefer this Auba.
“For me it is a click. It is a combination that realising that his role has to go well beyond that.
“What was good, or very good, two or three years ago, with his role in this team, at this club, it is not enough. He had to take a step forward. I would say the same with Laca, look what he is transmitting, not just doing or playing, what he is transmitting. For me that is really, really important.”
Personally, I am very happy that Aubameyang has galvanized himself back into action, as he was looking a bit too comfortable after bagging such a big money contract.
Long may it continue, and we can still dream of him winning the Golden Boot once again….
I think he’s developed his game, like his link up play(Tottenham goal and Aston Villa assist for ESR comes to mind) and also he’s pressing hard and troubling the opposition defense more, but as Captain not yet(I’ve seen Tierney, Laca Captain more than him without the armband)
I think he’s too passive for the kind of Captain this team needs
Am I missing something
We are 10th
Below Brighton , West Ham, Everton as well as Spurs and Man United who are mocked for how bad they have been
Auba didn’t do anything against Chelsea or City
He was quiet at Brighton and faded out of the game against Palace
Yet he’s the captain we need
Hey Dan, we may be tenth but only one point behind 5th. If we beat Leicester……
Admin Pat IF IF
Daniel Smith Have you noticed something Brighton are flying since they sold us White
He works harder and seems happier when playing with Lacazette
I think that answers the question on whether he is the captain Arsenal needs.
The captain Arsenal needs doesn’t work harder just because his mate is playing.
Something wasn’t right last season. Apart from being physically ill I wasn’t sure about his mental well-being at all.
Certainly seems in a better frame of mind this season and long may it continue. Not convinced that he is captain material but taking the captaincy away could be counterproductive.
He is sure better than last season and improving but need to be consistent level. Captain material does not give up easily and fight on and bring the whole team together.
A few matches of good playing are positive points but need to be on consistent level.
I’m a huge Auba supporter but even I know he shouldn’t be captain, as this was simply a ploy used by higher-ups in order to appease him prior to his then upcoming contract negotiations…furthermore, it’s become far too commonplace that teams, in a variety of sports, mistakenly handover the captaincy to the highest paid players, which I get, but don’t like, unless it’s truly warranted
we’ve been so pathetic when it comes to things armband-related for quite some time now, considering the Xhaka embarrassment and the years when Wenger used it for his own selfish ends, by giving it to his “fine” stooges and those who he wanted to “silence” before they were shown the door…maybe we should just put in on a shelf for awhile until we have a player who both deserves and desires this honour, so we can finally rewrite another problematic club narrative
I agree with TRVL’s comments. Auba should never have been made captain – being your highest paid player and (at the time) also your best player and popular in the dressing room are not the most important prerequisites for captaincy. Leadership skills are difficult to define, but include experience, determination, positivity, being vocal and critical when required, and tactical nous. Auba only possesses the first, which is pretty useless without the others. His big improvement has been his determination, but his personality does not lend itself to ever achieving the others – he is simply too “happy go lucky”, although he can exhibit really poor body language when things aren’t going right.
We have some potential fure leaders in Gabriel, Lokonga, Partey, Ramsdale, Tierney, but for varying reasons now is not yet the time for any of them.
So as TRVL wrote, best to keep Auba in situ for now.
Recency bias. A few good games(very few indeed) cannot immediately undo a full season of atrocious football
Our captains are out on loans at Marseille
What we have here presently are diluted one.. As weird as it sounds, strikers shouldn’t be captain.. captainship starts from the back..
So many great teams build from the back and that includes captainship
No. We are just saying this because our form is decent. If we get battered by Leicester or Liverpool we will all go right back to saying the usual tings about him. I think he can still play much better than we’ve seen this season. As far as I’m concerned Ramsdale is the captain. Of the backline. certainly.