Andy Townsend has hailed Mikel Arteta for making the tough call to drop Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the right decision for Arsenal supposedly.
Auba is the club’s captain, the club’s highest earner, but at present he isn’t representing our most important player, and his performances of late have left big question marks over his head.
At his age, it could well be that he is on the retreat, backed up by his inconsistencies in recent seasons also, with his goal output dropping season to season.
The 32 year-old has now failed to score in any of his last six appearances for the club, missing a penalty and a shocking miss against Newcastle from close range during that time, and manager Mikel Arteta has finally taken it upon himself to drop his star to the bench.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the greatest performance from our side in his absence, and the Spaniard will now have to decide whether he brings him back in or not.
Townsend believes it was ‘the right call’ for the manager to make however, regardless of the end result.
‘Fair play to him (Arteta for dropping Auba),’ said Townsend as quoted by the Metro.
‘When it’s your captain as well, then it can present a bit of a dilemma towards a coach, particularly a coach trying to find the best solutions and the best part forward for his club.
‘I think it’s the right call. With Aubameyang, I watch him some days and I see a real predatory striker, then other days it’s like you are playing with ten men. He is so far off his game.’
As much as I wasn’t complaining about Auba being dropped, with his confidence appearing to be low as well and his struggles are beginning to affect the team, I don’t believe the blame can solely be on him at times. We have lacked creativity at times, and an extended time without scoring can hurt one’s confidence.
At the same time, I’m all for someone like Eddie Nketiah getting his chance to shine, especially from what he showed in pre-season and in the cup competitions this term, and with what Arteta says he is seeing on the training field, he should be playing more often than he is regardless.
Is Auba our main weakness at present? Who do you believe is most deserving of minutes at CF while Auba isn’t doing it?
Patrick