European football pundit Julien Laurens claims that Mikel Arteta is not stupid to keep playing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the wing if he will be better off playing centrally.
Aubameyang has struggled for goals this season despite scoring 22 times in each of the last two seasons.
The striker has played as a left forward for all the time that Mikel Arteta has been Arsenal’s boss, and he has delivered.
But now that his goals have dried up, the Spanish manager has been put under pressure by fans to play the attacker through the middle.
Julien, however, claims that Arteta isn’t playing him in that position because the Gabon striker will not be able to press as Alexandre Lacazette does.
He claims that Arteta’s new system requires his central striker to press hard from the front, but that isn’t something that Aubameyang can do at the moment.
“I think it’s just finding a way of getting him more involved in the box,” Laurens told ESPN FC as quoted by Express Sports.
“If you look at stats of expected goals, touches in the opposition box, shots of course.
“If you don’t shoot you can’t score, regardless of your expected goals.
“If he’s not in the position to shoot, if he doesn’t have the ball in the box, he can’t score.
“Right now he cannot play centrally because he would have to chase the ball and press all the time.
“This is what Arteta is asking his No 9 to do and Lacazette can do that and I don’t think Aubameyang can do it, or it would be crazy to ask that kind of job of Aubameyang. He can’t play in the centre.
“Arteta is not stupid, he would play him centrally if he thought he could and if he thought it was better for the team.
“There’s a reason why he plays on the left and not centrally.”
Play Elneny behind Aubameyang and your pressing problem is solved.
Auba
Saka Elneny Pepe/Willian
Partey Xhaka/Ceballos
Tierney Luiz Gabriel Bellerin
Leno
Hmmm! You do have a point bro.
Or play Tierney as a LB not LCB that gives width when he pushes up, rather than Auba sitting on LW for width. As LCB it takes too long to get forward hence the slow attacks on the left.
Are we now saying that Aubameyang is not capable of defending as well as attacking???
Is that not the mantle we are supposed to judge our players???
Haven’t we been told that EVERY player has to be able to defend as well as attack???
Some serious thinking here, especially as, at the moment, he can’t seem to attack or defend to the standards other players are judged by!!!!
Look at his contribution – one goal and no assists this season, absolutely pathetic and he can’t live on previous seasons performances – he’s even made political statements and said he’s unhappy…Satan himself and he should concentrate on football, not have any kind of personal opinion!!!
That obscene and grotesque salary is bleeding our club dry and all he does is score penalties and smiles!!!
Tongue in cheek guys, but I hope you see the irony in what I’m saying…probably not, but it made me laugh anyway.
Sir, class is permanent, form is temporary. That one season 19 assists was temporary, the laziness is permanent, or else we would have got 19 assists and 8 goals every year. maths states that 350 is greater than 250.
The way teams defend against you affects your assist output. It matters that we don’t have a destructive offensive player like Sanchez.
It hurts that we are probably the slowest passing team in the league – Ozil is a one touch player, we ain’t as a team.
yes and also if the striker dont score you look bad as an assists player
I see it my brother. The same mantle was demanded of Ozil or have they forgotten so quick. What a selfish irony
😂😂 Made me laugh too, Ken! Nice one!
aubameyang is lazy as well , and gets caught out of position , oh and his link up play wasnt world class since day one ,, so there you go ,, (another tongue in cheek).. well on a serious note, i predicted the same thing about auba and his big contract, just wait till a couple of games more and people will start getting on his back, and if we had a crowd theyd be booing him too, its about the team structure and how we play , not auba’s fault , not even ozil’s fault, ok all players have bad days but some player’s bad days are portrayed worse just to bring them down… anyways a bad result incoming against leeds, we couldnt match their energy last year and were lucky to win 1-0 in the fa cup, could be worse this year. lets hope for the best.
By now we all know why ozil is out of this team because of “non footballing” reasons, it would have been another thing if ozil was being dropped for someone like say, kevin de bruyne, but to not even have him in the squad, cant even discuss it anymore , im done
HI Ken I can easily see exactly who, what was said and about whom, which you are quoting and I STAND BY EVERY WORD! JUST SO YOU KNOW.
IF AUBA IS STILL DOING LITTLE IN, SAY, THREE MORE YEARS, HE MAY WELL GET THE SAME COMMENTS, as I like to compare like with like and in the same timespan too.
I am flattered that my comments strike such a chord in you!
This guy’s an unconditional supporter of Laca. Auba led the line under Klopp whose teams always pressed.
Mikel has to find a way to put a golden boot striker in his best position.
Gabriel Martinelli will come and play Centrally for sure. Lacazette has to leave that position not necessarily for Auba but for other pressing teenagers. When you put Nketiah for a few minutes when Lacazette has squandered all scoring chances what magic do you expect from the young man? He is scoring in the England squad because he is given 90 minutes to play. Lacazette is dry as a 9 when will Arteta see it. I can see Arteta being dragged down by Lacazette
For sure Good assists and he keeps squandering them. And a Coach cannot see to act. He is not using his physical to score goals !! And you keep him as a Time Waster in the Club
It is sad but you keep blaming others for not being creative.
Nice one Ken.Oldies on the same wave length.As for the poor form of Auba and for that matter, Laca and Willian ,Arteta could give the three of them a kick up the backside by leaving them on the bench against Leeds.Highly unlikely I know, but in the case of all three, justifiable.
Well Grandad, it seems some of us oldies are, while others are conspicuous by their absence.
As for a good kick up the backside, it seems that the posterior of some players are judged completely differently to others!!!