Arsenal earned another competitive win yesterday when they defeated AFC Wimbledon 3-0 in the Carabao Cup.
The Gunners have now won three matches on the spin, a significant improvement from their start to the campaign.
Mikel Arteta’s side started this season with three consecutive league losses, conceded nine goals and scored none.
It was the worst start to the season possible and it made them the subject of ridicule from rival fans.
The Gunners look to have turned the tide and have now won their last three competitive matches with clean sheets as well.
They rested most of their key players for the match against Wimbledon and still emerged from it with a win.
The previous two wins have been by 1-0 scorelines and it showed that the Gunners are struggling for goals.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remains the club’s top striker and the Gabonese star has started most of their matches.
However, he was rested for the match against Wimbledon and the goal-scoring performance of Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette has put him under pressure, according to The Daily Mail. They claim:
“What an easy night for Arsenal. A 3-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon, 10 changes made to the Premier League side and Bernd Leno was not tested once in the Gunners goal.
“But while their third round tie was a stroll in the park, Mikel Arteta would have been delighted with the free-scoring nature of his side on Wednesday night.
“Gunners captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, rested for the Emirates clash on Wednesday, has not been his usual self over the past 12 months, with the former Premier League Golden Boot winner scoring just 11 top-flight goals since September 2020.
“Now the Gabon forward must be concerned after watching Alex Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah find the net against the Dons, as the pressure on the 32-year-old’s squad status intensifies.
“Lacazette, who is yet to start a Premier League game for the Gunners this season, opened the scoring for Arsenal on Wednesday night by converting from the penalty spot, before Nketiah rounded off the scoring by flicking home late on with a clever finish.
“Nketiah and Lacazette were deemed forgotten men at Arsenal at the start of this season, but Wednesday night shows they could yet have good seasons after all.”
Don’t you think that if Auba had played yesterday he would have scored? As he is the highest scorer of the club in competition this season. So, I don’t think he is under pressure following the decent performance of Nketiah and Lacazette. In as much as Mikel Arteta remains Arsenal’s head coach Auba will always be a starter.
I’m sure MA has his own opinion here but i see things like this
If we want to play more in our own half and play more counter attacking football, Auba is probably the better option if he stays in position as he has a tendency to wander in search of the ball which leaves no one up top.
If we want to be able to play more in the final 3rd and outside of their box, we play Laca.
Laca is so much better in tighter spaces, is stronger on the ball and holds the ball up.
The younger guys appreciate him and his work rate from what i can see on the pitch.
Overall, i 100% think Laca is superior to Auba in this team and how this team plays.
It was evident to alot of people last season the impact Laca had with the young players and ended with a respectful return of 13 premier league goals ( 17 in all comps) which is his joint highest since his 1st season. bottom line – he is the best striker for the team setup
Well said Val.It’s time for Auba to demonstrate that he can function effectively for the team as a whole, something he has failed to do for some time.He may be Captain on the team sheet, but he has not displayed much in the way of leadership qualities this season.While others are rightly criticised for poor performances,he seems to be untouchable by many who are on record as blaming Arteta for his lousy form.
So Laca’s penalty puts Auba under pressure? Lol
Rested against wimbledon, for Spurs.
Auba should and will be our main striker this season ,but maybe the time to replace him should be looked at before the season finishes .
Regarding Laca and Eddie ,not good enough IMO and that as been proving time and Time again .
I would be looking at Osimhen of Napoli who I watched often while he played at Lille ,just the player that we are crying out for .
But obviously that’s just my personal choice and just a pipe dream .
We have played 7 meaningful games so far this season!
We have lost to 3 teams in the top ten of the EPL, and beaten 2 teams right at the bottom of the EPL and two teams outside the EPL.
In our next 6 EPL games:
3 are against teams currently in the top 10 (Brighton, Spurs and Aston Villa) and 3 are against sides currently in the bottom half of the table (Leeds, Crystal Palace and Leicester)
I think both we and the Board will know a lot more about this Arsenal side after those 6 games!!!
But, of course, it’s Spurs first!!!!!!
No way auba is under pressure after these goals against a team that plays two dovisions below us !!! But the club should actively think about the post laca-auba era. “11 top-flight goals since September 2020”. Seems that auba put all his energy left in trying to get the max money and better deal be could from the club. 55m/3 years is not bad for him but for the stats mentioned above, it will rather be a burden until he runs out of his contract. But after all, it might change if he was to start again scoring big goals… one this week end ?!
For those of you who can’t seem to grasp the primary reasons why Auba has struggled to score over the last year, please take a gander at the offensive stats for this club during that period, including chances created, service provided, amount of shots taken etc, etc, etc…your talking about the same individual who scored more goals than both Henry and Sanchez during their respective first 150 appearances…it’s called having a logically-induced perspective…our offence has been so anemic since Arteta was mistakenly handed the managerial reigns that goals were going to be hard to come by regardless of whatever prolific scorer you put out on the pitch…now of course, a few injuries and illness concerns didn’t help matters, but anyone who’s starved for service will struggle to produce…now if you want to enable MA to continue down the same mind-numbing path, like when he insists on Xhaka’s presence in the middle of the pitch, keep calling for Laca, as he positions himself, with his back to goal, so close to the midfield stripe that it will ultimately push our midfielders into deeper and wider positions, thereby leading to slower build-up, as he will be flopping around ad nauseum, and a doubling-down of our already overly-dependent wide-side advancement of the ball
I would rate Laca over Auba any time of the day, for his work rate, his commitment to the cause, his hold up play, his communication with the youngsters and his general leadership. At many times in the game, Auba seems to be lost and confused. Laca is a fighter and hope Arteta starts him against the Spuds. It is not only about scoring goals, it is also about what one brings to the team.