Kevin Campbell has defender Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang‘s performance for Arsenal in their 5-0 loss Manchester City last weekend.
The Gunners had little-to-nothing to boast of in their third successive Premier League defeat, falling behind 2-0 inside the opening quarter of an hour, before losing Granit Xhaka to a red card just as they were beginning to get a foothold on the game, and the rest was history.
Captain Aubameyang wasn’t spared of criticism either, with the stats painting him in a terrible light, but former Gunners Kevin Campbell has come to his defence.
“It’s crazy, for five minutes we looked lively,” Campbell told the Football Insider.
“I’m a striker, I know what it feels like when the opposition keep going down the other end and keep scoring.
“Then they go and score against and you are up against it. Any momentum you have is just gone.
“Looking interested and being well beaten goes together. The problem is that we can’t defend.
“Aubameyang’s best work is done at the other end of the pitch.
“How can he look interested when he hasn’t got the ball and your team is getting heavily beaten?
“No wonder he’s not running around, he can do it 100 times but he’s getting nothing from it.”
Auba’s talent is taking his chances, and the reality is that he didn’t see enough of the ball for us to really judge him, and once the team is trailing drastically, your confidence is going to drop, which is a striker’s nightmare.
I think it is harsh to judge our captain on that performance, especially knowing that his preparation for the season was also disrupted by Coronavirus.
Does everyone’s performance need to be assessed with a fine comb?
Patrick