Every fan can see when a striker is low on confidence and it usually means that the goals are unlikely to flow, so Arsenal could have an interesting situation over the next few games.
They spent their whole season trying to tie Aubameyang down to a new contract, so it’s fairly mystifying to see him being shoved out on the wing.
Mikel Arteta did recently hint that he would probably use Aubameyang in a wider role this season, and it looks like Alexandre Lacazette will play as a number 9 instead.
READ MORE: Video: Timid Lacazette passes up a great chance following an incredible touch and pass from Kieran Tierney
The French striker was poor tonight and missed a huge chance where it looked like his killer instinct had deserted him, but that’s always going to happen if you take a striker and try to turn them into a defensive winger.
There’s a danger that Arteta could nullify both players if he persists with this approach, but he did his best to stick up for Lacazette after the game:
Lacazette might have had a night to forget, but he still has Arteta’s backing ? pic.twitter.com/RX6nlunbN8
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) October 25, 2020
In fairness it would be astonishing if Arteta came out and said his player was bad, but it does make you wonder if he’s tried to be a little bit too clever with his tactics recently.
Last season we saw that Lacazette could be very effective in the wider areas and he did some excellent work for the team, while Aubameyang has the pace and finishing ability to terrify opposition centre backs.
If he’s played on the wing then he can end up going missing for large chunks of the game, so it would make sense to mix things up for their next game.