Is Aubameyang Running Out Of Excuses?

Is Aubameyang Running Out Of Excuses? By Dan Smith

Lacazette wouldn’t have enjoyed being dropped this weekend, but if there is one positive for him personally, it’s at least for the next week he can’t be blamed for Aubameyang’s failures.

In reality, the events at Elland Road just made Laca’s work rate stand out. If nothing else the striker works hard.

So many critics got their way on Sunday. Our captain, who at the start of this season has been invisible on the left was asked to play through the middle and was equally invisible.

Yet it’s been a case for a while that there are some players some gooners are comfortable to blame, while others you can’t dare question. Maybe fans find it easier making excuses then facing the truth? The truth being that once he signed his new contract, our skipper has grown comfortable.

Maybe some find admitting that, means they have to accept that Ozil is not the only player over 30 being paid over the odds.

Don’t get me wrong I rate Auba, but I care about Arsenal more. It’s not fair to hold certain Gunners to a certain standards but not others. It’s certainly outrageous to blame his teammates for his form.

I’m sure Ozil likes better players to pass to, or a world class DM mopping up for him, but I remember many not allowing that to be a factor.

So why now can Auba hide behind a lack of service or positioning as to why approx. 250 000 pound a week has so far paid for 2 Leauge goals (so far)?

Him being out of position is another myth.

Consider this, this was the first League game the current regime asked him to start in the centre. Just think about that for a second, Since last December Auba has scored 20 goals playing on the left.

So suddenly why would that be an issue now? Lack of service? Are you telling me we had any more creativity last campaign?

Again it’s scary how a section of our fanbase think. On one hand our midfield is good enough to leave Ozil out of the entire squad, but on the other, can we make Auba immune from being questioned because our midfield is rubbish?

The reality is (and this reflects society) it’s easier to point the finger then look in a mirror.
The man will score goals again, of course he will. Yet for whatever reason (and it could be many factors) he has lost his edge.

It’s okay to say that it doesn’t make you any less of a fan to call out the obvious. The man who’s wage dictates that he should be making the difference is currently one of our worst performers this season.

The day he extended his deal he spoke about wanting to become a legend like Ian Wright, Bergkamp and Thierry Henry. Of course he was told to say that by the marketing department.
He will never be a legend. A good player, of course. A legend? He couldn’t lace the boots of those names.

It’s nothing to do with goals either. Anyone can have a drought. It’s the work rate.
Even if Henry didn’t score, he’d do something. If Ian Wright didn’t, he would look hurt, like it mattered.

This is technically our main leader; someone the youngsters should be looking up to.
It’s sad that we reached a level where we are settling for going to a newly promoted team, defending and hoping on the break Auba might take one chance.

When Auba scored twice in the FA Cup Final he did so from the left, Laca in the middle, Pepe on the right, a midfield of Xhaka and Ceballos. Rightfully he got all the plaudits at Wembley. It works both ways though.

Like Laca, service, positioning wasn’t the reason he tore Chelsea apart, we can’t now use that to hide the reality that at the moment Aubameyang has been a passenger.
Is Aubameyang running out of excuses?

Be Kind In The Comments

Dan Smith

Tags Aubameyang goals lacazette

29 Comments

  1. where did all go wrong?

    Auba stopped scoring, ozil went completely missing for the past couple of years, pepe never hit the spot, willian regress. it’s just too obvious. Too much structure kills creativity.

    the thing that hurt me most is our abysmal attack. even in the late AW era, we can bang in goals and that’s because of AW’s habit of offering complete freedom in attack. the downside, poor defending.

    Then UE and arteta came, focusing too much on defence. it’s as if the players are now too afraid to attack as they maybe unable to return into an organised defensive structure.

    someone mentioned here that MA is guilty of overcontrolling the players and perhaps there is some truth there. the attackers are not looking like they are having fun at all.

    the midfield needs less mental pressure when attacking. fix this and we can expect the attack to score goals left, right and centre.

  2. Arsenal is one of the least conceding and one of the least scoring teams at the moment in the premiership. We are hardly wining matches either .That means our problems are our strikers especially Auba and Laca, and Pepe to a large extent . We need at least two attacking mid fielders that can assist and also score goals. Willian and Pepe can never give us that. The Arsenal board need to spend big in January , until then we should continue to hope that our rivals don’t leave us far behind in the race for a top four or at least a top six finish.

    1. Yawn. another arsenal player bashing article by “fans”.

      Perhaps support the player with your words, because opinions and views such as yours help no one.

      1. Again I don’t understand
        This is the problem
        A lack of standards
        We are Arsenal
        We just finished 8th , have had a poor start and what do you want to read ?
        That Arsenal are amazing , Aubas amazing , we are the best in the world , etc

  3. Auba certainly will not run out of money. His three year contract is set to pay him 54 million pound. Let’s hope this contract is worth it unlike another player on 350k p/w.

  4. Misleading headline Dan.
    Perhaps you can confirm where Auba has made any excuses. The fans have made them yes but not Auba as far as I’ve seen. Happy to withdraw if you show proof, cheers mate.

    1. Well said. Auba is going through a lean patch and we should support him. Whereas Ozil was a one off season wonder, give any reasons or excuses (which ever side of the fence you are) he never banged more than 8 goals or 19 assists than one year. Unlike Auba who has been banging in goals in France, Germany and England. He WILL come good and himself single handed gave us the FA cup.
      With Xhaka in the midfield can you expect to win games? Lucky he did not have a brain drain against Leeds and we WON a point.
      Cabellos another mediocre player shining once every 8-10 matches, there is a reason for RM letting him off for another season.
      Chelsea rejects never add value – ask Gallas, Chek, Luiz and now Willian. Who’s next ? Waste of money and player spot hiring them.
      Go back to the basics, hire bright fearless skilled young men and dump big name signings. Ask any sane person who would he prefer Martinelli or Willian., Saka or Pepe, Elneny or Xhaka. The likes of Boateng, Erickson, etc are not going to make you title contenders.

      1. Um,
        Ozil is top 3 in Europe over the past 15 years in BOTH chances created and assists, so please stop with these ‘1 good season’ ideas…
        He’s also our 2nd best chance creator since Arteta was appointed (38 vs Pepe – 42) despite having played 21 matches less than Pepe, so per game/minute by far the best.

        And I don’t really care if he plays, but we better start creating chances soon. Both Laca and Auba are better than their current numbers show.

        1. Diogenes, Ever tried living in the present as normal folk do? “15 years” ago- as if THAT has any relevance to now – Henry was the best player in the Prem, so would you have him back now!

          1. Jon Fox, ever tried living honestly as good folk do? 1. Diogenes rightly corrected the wrong statement from Loose Cannon and
            2. over the past 15 year =/= 15 years ago, please learn some english and some base maths for your old age you lack basic knowledge

  5. The out of position myth and criticism on work rate are quite valid. Hope Auba buckles down and bounce back stronger

  6. It gets a little bit harder to play on the wings the older you grow. It makes sense if Aubameyang’s productivity drops in the next few seasons on left. Putting in a defensive shift on the wings is not going to be easy for a thirty year old…

    What I would like to see is someone with legs and pressing play just behind Auba. I think Ceballos or Willock or even Martinelli come to think of it could play that role. Then play Saka, Willian and Martinelli when he arrives consistently on his side.

  7. The team collectively has been poor in the last three league matches when we have been unable to exercise any measure of control in midfield.The absence of Partey and to a lesser extent Elneny , has had a major impact and the injury to the creative Saka is worrying to say the least.Add to that the fact that the front three are all misfiring and you have a recipe for failure and mediocrity .Basically we are currently a mid table side at best and miles away from being candidates to win the League.However,on a brighter note, Tierney, Gabriel and Partey are quality acquisitions who should prove to be major assets in the seasons ahead.The decision to revert to a back four against Leeds is also positive, and significantly they , along with Leno, did well to dig out a point at Elland Road.Confidence is a major factor in the make up of forwards in particular, and it only takes one good winning performance to relight the touch paper and get Auba going again.Small margins change games and confidence and if we can scramble 3 points from Wolves, that may be enough for us to turn the tide and get us playing with more freedom.Despite recent setbacks, I am satisfied Arteta is the right man to lead us out of the wilderness.

  8. People keep defending Auba and giving excuses for why he is playing so awfully… Its not that he is playing out wide/left coz he has always been playing through the left since he joined arsenal…he was after one final huge contract and he got it.Arteta should show some balls and sub him during halftime to wake him up or rather bench him just to show that he is not been any where good enough

  9. The entire team is performing poorly and not just Auba, ‘the entire team’ includes the technical bench.The team at the moment is static, they are one dimensional, no variation to their game which should be dictated by the sort of opponent they play against.

    Let us not resort ro blame game as this will not help any one, let us be patient and support our team.Arteta knows that the fans of this great club are very keen on the direcrion the team is taking under his tutelage and am sure he won’t take their patience for granted, after about three transfer windows, the fans will ruthless appraise his work.

  10. Auba will come good again he’s a class player but he needs players to create chances for him,
    If we have any chance of getting top 4 we have to stop playing sokatris.. Mustafi.. Kolas… Xakai.. Lacca.. Pepe in the first team.
    Why not try youngsters like Willock, Amn, saka, Nelson, martinelle, nekitha. At least they will give all and if we don’t make top 4 at least these youngsters will get game time, and please next summer get rid of… Mustafi, sok, Luiz, holding, kolas, xakai, cobbello, willian, Pepe, lacca, ozil what a load of rubbish they are…

  11. We gave Aubameyang a new contract to score goals, to lead the team by example and to both defend and attack… that latter point was the level of the bar set for all our players .
    At the moment, he is not fulfilling one single requirement.

    How can a golden boot winner go from the pinnacle of his trade to the bottom from the start of a season?
    Service and confidence both of which are sadly lacking – he will regain the latter once the former is sorted out…. Over to you Mikel!!!

  12. I love auba and I support him but that sad thing for me is he is not even a captain material. Arsenal is been robbed of a hard-working, disciplined, diligent leader. Auba is far too jovial and ceremonial, doesn’t even put in the minimum shift required from a captain. Where are the henderson, viera, keane, kompany in this team? The closest person to a captain right now is Tierney.

  13. As Declan(above ) says the headline is misleading(some things never change!!) as Auba has not to my knowlege sought to make an excuse as yet.

    However he had better not start trying to do so, as there are NO excuses.
    I start from the life principle that a club/ player contract is TWO ways, not just one way as some, like Ozil, seem to fondly imagine. When a player signs to receive a richly luxurious lifestyle paid for, albeit indirectly by we fans, he also contracts to give body and soul to the cause while wearing our shirt. In other words 100% effort. Thus is entirely my beef with Ozil, was when Walcot was here and is now becoming so with Auba.
    Yes, players lose their form , their sharpness but there is no allowable moral reason why any fit player cannot give 100% for the cause every time he wears our shirt and that goes for all players always!

    That is the inviolable principle by which I judge the moral character of not only a footballer but also any fit person.
    LAZINESS STINKS! IT IS DAMAGING TO THE PERSON AND TO ALL OTHERS TO WHOM HE HAS RESPONSIBILITY.
    Auba is not trying anywhere near hard enough . Simple as that . All you need to see that fact is eyes that work.

    HE HAD BETTER START GETTING HIS FINGER OUT RIGHT NOW OR INCUR THE WRATH OF MANY WHO THINK LIKE ME AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, OF THIS MANAGER WHO HAS MADE IT CLEAR HE WILL NOT TOLERATE LAZINESS AND THANK GOD THAT HE WON’T!

    1. Jon – As far as I am aware, neither Aubameyang or Ozil have made excuses. in fact NO player has.
      Neither has MA accused ANY of his players of being lazy has he?
      If MA is still playing “lazy” players, should he really be doing the job?
      After all, in your own words, the player “is not trying anywhere near hard enough!!”

      Perhaps Jon, you should live by your admirable standards and not judge others by them, as Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil and Pierre Aubameyang, among others, obviously see things differently to you?

  14. Auba has not started the season well but the system we play is stifling and is blunting our attack. Because of the rigid nature of our play with and without the ball, we dont flow when we get the ball. No runners from deep, no runners ahead and a very slow and laboured build up. While we can blame Auba, we also have to blame the manager and the other players. Surely they cant be happy playing football that produces nothing, players want to score goals, if they dont, they aren’t footballers. The system and style we play is stopping us attacking in a way that suits our players. Is Willian as bad as he is showing, is Lacca as bad as he is showing, is Pepe as bad as he is showing? What i have noticed is our players run down blind alleys all too often. Auba needs better chances and our players need the brakes taking off.

  15. It is what it is. Auba is a one trick pony who is very good at scoring goals but not very good at creating chances. While that’s a great quality it leaves him alone on an island when he doesn’t get help. He can’t play at a CF because he is not good in the air and not good at holding the ball. It goes back to the real culprit: The coach.

  16. MA team selection and his post match interview have shown that he is feeling the pressure, against Leeds the first thing you need is to match their workrate on & off the ball for 90 mns, when we needed our forwards especially the CF to constantly press their defense he should have stuck with Laca or even play Eddie but certainly not moving Auba, when giving Pépé finally a start it should have been at the detriment of Wilian who hasn’t had one decent game since the opening fixture on a sunny afternoon against a newly promoted team some people could start to believe that he is a flat track bully who goes missing against tough opponents blocking Saka path but somehow escapes criticism more worryingly even though he had no impact on the game he was subbed because of”injury” and not for tactical reasons and let’s not talk about him breaking covid restrictions there is no way to excuse Pépé behaviour but shouldn’t MA have given him a start when he was scoring assisting and his confidence was started to grow? Our manager did the same thing with Laca who after scoring in 3 consecutive games was benched on the 4th,what kind of message does it send to players? I think it confused them, what about throwing our young players who haven’t been playing in the PL when you need to win, if you want to slowly give them playing time do it when we are leading or against the bottom of the league teams again it doesn’t help their confidence, What about AMN ? during the transfer window when we received offers of 25M which we turned down the manager played him since then the poor boy has barely played, you would be forgiven in thinking he was played, we turned down 25M for a now bit part player, I thought our manager was great at man management?? Lastly I think Pépé was thrown under the bus and made a scapegoat in MA post match interview and he is surprised and shocked that he received racist abuse and threats, does he not know that a manager’s words carry weight? It is something you expect from Maureen not an Arsenal manager, having said that believe it or not I want nothing more than to see MA succeed!

  17. I don’t like blaming players but you are right, Mr. Dan. Auba has been underperforming this season, whether on the left or in the middle in the last game. I think it is both due to the tactics as it is due to his own poor play. I hope he returns to form and bangs in goals like he did. Also take you up on that selective criticism thing. As much as I love that Saka is our player, and commend him on his performances, it is also true that he has missed significant one on ones in games against Man city, Man Utd and Leeds in that order, along with some good chances in the Leicester game. Lacazette should rightly be criticized, but should not be the only one as our whole attack has been poor. Same for Pepe. And for Willian, I don’t think I as a fan can give him plaudits for any game except Fulham, and to a lesser extent ManU and Sheffield.

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