Opinion: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang now as big a problem for Arsenal as Mesut Ozil was after another disciplinary breach
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Published 11/12/2021 at 20:35 GMT
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was missing out of the Arsenal squad for the Premier League win over Southampton due to a disciplinary breach, Mikel Arteta confirmed. The Gunners played well and now face a similar scenario to the one they faced with Mesut Ozil. Aubameyang has become a problem for the North London club.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) against Manchester City / Premier League
Image credit: Eurosport
Faced with a potentially tricky test, Arsenal provided yet more evidence that they are finally heading in the right direction. Mikel Arteta’s side dominated Southampton from start to finish as they claimed a comfortable 3-0 win to move within just one point of the top four. Every key figure in the Emirates Stadium dressing room contributed, besides one.
Indeed, there was no sign of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the lineup, nor was there any sign of him in the matchday squad. It emerged the 32-year-old had been dropped due to a disciplinary breach, something that was confirmed before kick off by Arteta and elaborated on further by the Spaniard afterwards.
“I think we have been very consistent, that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club,” said Arteta. “Whatever happens in the dressing room, I cannot share. I am sorry. I'm telling you the reason, I cannot lie, it was that [a disciplinary breach]. This is where I stand. From my side, I will never say what the breach was.”
This, of course, wasn’t the first time Aubameyang had been dropped from the Arsenal squad due to a disciplinary problem. March saw the striker miss the win over Tottenham Hotspur due to a “breach of pre-match protocol” and so Aubameyang’s latest infringement is hardly out of character.
Even worse for Aubameyang was that Arsenal produced an excellent performance without him, as they did against Spurs in March’s North London derby when they were also without the Gabonese international. The 32-year-old wasn’t exactly notable in his absence as the Gunners demonstrated their superiority.
It’s not just that Aubameyang’s conduct isn’t befitting of a club captain, it’s that he no longer improves the Arsenal team on the pitch. Signed to a three-year contract extension only last year, Aubameyang isn’t justifying the £350,000 weekly wage being handed to him by the North London club.
As a centre forward in Arteta’s system, Alexandre Lacazette looks a better fit with the Frenchman given a standing ovation by the home crowd inside the Emirates Stadium when he was withdrawn with the match already won. If Arsenal face a straight choice between their two experienced centre forwards, Lacazette is surely the stronger option at this point.
On the left wing, where Aubameyang has frequently been deployed by Arteta, Arsenal are similarly better off looking elsewhere. Emile Smith Rowe gives the Gunners balance in that position, tucking inside to allow the full back behind him to overlap. With Bukayo Saka stretching the pitch on the other wing, Arsenal have tactical variety.
Even with Smith Rowe out, as was the case against Southampton, Gabriel Martinelli looked a more suitable option on the left wing than Aubameyang, grabbing an assist for Gabriel Magalhaes’ goal. This was a demonstration of how Arsenal, as a team, no longer need Aubameyang. In fact, he might be holding them back.
Aubameyang has become as big a problem for Arsenal as Mesut Ozil was towards the end of his time in North London. Just as was the case with Ozil, the Gunners have tied up a significant chunk of their wage bill in an ageing player who isn’t just struggling to contribute on the pitch, but is seemingly a disruptive influence off it.
If Arsenal can find a taker for Aubameyang in the January window, they would surely offload him, even though he is their captain, but with the 32-year-old on £350,000-a-week it’s not clear if another club would be willing to foot the bill. The scenario is almost identical to the one Arsenal faced with Ozil.
Arsenal are making progress under Arteta, but the presence of Aubameyang at the club increasingly feels like a throwback to a less encouraging time for the Gunners, when big contracts were handed out to players only to stave off the PR hit of letting them leave on a free. They are still counting the cost of keeping Aubameyang.
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