Mikel Arteta lets two of his stars know exactly what is expected from them

Mikel Arteta challenges Alex Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe to make Arsenal forget Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.

Arsenal will be without Aubameyang for their next three games comprising of two Premier League fixtures and the FA Cup fourth round.

The Gabonese attacker has been the club’s top scorer this season netting 14 league goals already, however, Arteta believes his team can cope without the former Borussia Dortmund man and he has backed his other forwards to get them the goals.

He effectively threw down a challenge to Pepe and Lacazette to fill the void left by Aubameyang and help the fans to forget about Aubameyang’s absence.

Lacazette has struggled for goals this season, Gabriel Martinelli has even scored more goals for the club this season than he has, but he has been working hard under Arteta.

Pepe has also shown flashes of brilliance in his game but more is expected of him and Arteta expects both of them to do well in the games Aubameyang would be missing.

“They now have to make a step forward now he is not able to contribute to the team with goals,” the Spaniard said as quoted by the Daily Star.

“Someone else has to do it and I want to see that reaction too.

“Losing probably the most important player is never nice.

“We have other players that can play in that position. We will try to find a way and be as competitive as possible.”

Absolutely spot on from Arteta. It is time for the other attackers to ease the burden on Aubameyang. Top teams get goals from all sort of sources, not just one.

19 Comments

  1. Its high time we got a goal scoring midfielder.
    When was the last time an arsenal midfielder scored a goal?

    1. Ozil has the ability to come late and shoot in the penalty box

      I’m sure we would see more goals from Pepe because he is quick, but I’m not sure about Lacazette. He looks sluggish lately

      1. I tend to think that our midfield is the real reason why we are on this downward spiral.
        We have substandard players in other departments but I believe so much can change if we acquired some quality in our mid.
        All the 3 first choice I.e Torreira,Xhaka and Ozil have so many glaring inabilities that expose us both defensively and offensively which is the greatest limitation we are facing.

        1. Cliff
          You are right. We are creatively challenged in the midfield. The worst midfield I have seen at Arsenal.

    2. why are you mentioning midfielders. this is the job for the attackers i am glad the coach told pepe and Lacazette have to do what AUBA DOES

      1. @Gabie if you read my comment properly,my argument is not limited to goal scoring but on the functionality of the team in its entirety.
        What I mean is that the most dysfunctional unit in this team in my view is the midfield.And by the way,how many goals have you seen de bruyn score? Is he a striker?

  2. Problem is they still all remember the goal that Jack Wilshere scored a few seasons ago and want evey goal to look like that. I cannot count how many times in the last few games I have (while watching on the Telly) shouted “have a gooo” when one of the players has the ball on the edge of the penalty area. What is the opposite of “trigger happy”? They all seem to suffer from it ….. just one more pass, one more, run onto the return ball and… arrggggh! No wonder we have the fewest shots at goal in every single game we play.

  3. I think Auba’s suspension might be good for Laca it would put pressure on him to perform. He is normally a good finisher he needs to get 1 or 2 and then he all feel confident again. The goal drought happens to many strikers

  4. We are on a downward spiral for one reason……Kroenke and son. The old man, at first, tricked Arsenal shareholders into selling him their shares, then when he had enough bought out the rest. He was seen as a better bet than Usmanov…..how wrong. Kroenke is the worst thing that could have happened to Arsenal. We are only a business and one of many diluted clubs he owns, nothing else. We are the toy of a man who doesn’t give a s**t. We are in the hands of a team of management, a board and owners who do not understand Arsenal and our incredible history. To give Arteta credit he looks like a real true Arsenal man, but in our ownership method if the owner doesn’t put his hand in his pocket, even a real Arsenal man like Arteta has little chance. The net result….we are looking for a couple of loan deals this month.

    1. That was a depressing read but it resonates with how so many of us feel. And feel is the operative word as the Kroenke regime don’t ‘care or feel’ for the club and it’s history and it’s support. It’s a business. Full stop

  5. All these talk of Kroenke being a scrooge and not caring for the club, because he doesn’t spend huge amounts of money should stop. Please people, come back to reality.

    We can’t just spend money anyhow even if it is available. There are rules and their guidelines. Besides, buying players, especially expensive ones don’t always solve the problem.

    To blame the owner and see him as THE problem in Arsenal is simplistic and out of touch with reality. The owners hired who they thought would take us forward as a coach (Unai Emery) and had the courage to fire him when he wasn’t performing. They hired Mikel Arteta who till now, has proved to be fit for purpose, and you still accuse them of not caring or feeling.

    I mean, what do you have to do to please some people?

    1. The buck has to stop somewhere and they are ultimately responsible for how the club is run. Emery was sacked without a successor in place and without doubt should have taken place before the international break. Who then employed the management team? They didn’t just appoint themselves

      1. I wasn’t referring to Kroenke as being a Scrooge either. He is a businessman whose main sports business is carried out in the USA. Americans are used to their teams as being a franchise.

        Football is part of our DNA and so are the clubs we support. Can you imagine the Arsenal travel club organising travel for season ticket holders for so called home matches being played in the USA the way American football comes to London?

        When I wrote that he doesn’t care -he doesn’t as ‘soccer’ isn’t his thing – otherwise he would take his seat in the director’s box more often. It is a sports business.

        Personally, I think that football clubs are better owned by owners who understand what their club means to the community that support them and probably have done through several generations

  6. I also want to add that Emery created alot of problems for arsenal too by selling all the players eg iwobi, ramsey.wilshere etc with this he actually disrupted the whole team. Most times looks confused and really affected the spirit of the players.kroenke and sons and even Raul salieri seems to just be gambling with transfers not sure of who to buy. Wenger era seems betterbc by now we should be better off not worst. We are in 10th position and they are not sure of going to the market.its absurd. The likes of Sheffield. Watford.leceister.wolves.everton are now doing better.someone should open their skull to reset their dull brains..

  7. I agree that the owners are not fully to blame. What can they do if the players do not perform? I also agree that our midfield is not functioning the way it should and it puts pressure on the forwards and the defence. For any successful team, the midfield engine must function smoothly, the transition from defence to attack must be fluid, the defence must be protected, the attack must be supported by defence splitting passes and whenever possible, the midfielders must shoot themselves like Mount and Barkley for Chelsea, like deBrien for Man City, like Henderson for Liverpool

  8. for me real concern is true world class holding midfielder, atleast central defender and one creative midfielder. We have this issue since many years. Unai Emery didn’t do well with available resoouce. He was not good in picking players and was confused with his strategies. Till now Arteta is going great as a true Arsenal man. We were not lucky against Chelsea and Crystal. But we have to find way do not loose lead, which we tend to.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors