Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been warned about his tactic of playing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of position wide on the left.
Former Gunners star Paul Merson has stated that he thinks teams have worked out Arteta’s tactics in attack, with striker Aubameyang tending to cut in from the left-hand side onto his preferred right foot to try and curl the ball into the far corner.
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The Gabon international seemed to shine in that role for some time, but he’s looked far less effective recently after a poor run of form.
Merson has suggested it may now be time for Arteta to change things around and use Aubameyang in a more central role, which is where he played for most of his career until the last few months.
“I just think you’ve got to get Aubameyang (in the middle),” Merson said on Sky Sports, as quoted by the Daily Mirror. “I played out on the wing in my career for part of it.
“You either have so much of the ball you can’t get enough of it or you never see it for 20 minutes and you’re sitting there doing nothing.
“When you’ve got your most talented player playing out there he’s too easy to pick up.
“Teams are getting used to him now he gets it out on the left, he cuts in and bends it in the top corner.
“They are stopping that so they’ve got to get him in the middle of the pitch.”
It remains to be seen if Arteta will take this advice on board, but many Arsenal fans will agree something needs to change in attack.
The north Londoners have looked a little more solid at the back since Arteta took over, but he hasn’t quite got this team clicking in the final third.