Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has his own, private proving grounds

Arsenal don’t have much to fight for in the Premier League these days, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang does, and that counts for something.

Arsenal’s win over Watford was pointless from a logistical point of view, but from an emotional one? It was brilliant. Truly spectacular, the kind of performance that could go along way towards helping a fragile fan base forget their woes.

Right at the middle of it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He provided a goal and an assist and should have had more.

Not long ago, I wrote an article about how Aubameyang is essentially moot now. He has nothing to drive the Gunners towards, a she is cup-tied in the only competition that matters – the Europa League.

The Premier League is done and dusted, so what then do the Gunners play for? They play for pride, sure. And thankfully, that seems to be off to a good start. But they also play for the future with Aubameyang.

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The Gabonese hit man ranks among the best strikers in all of football, so it feels a bit odd that he isn’t technically playing for anything. But again, that’s only from a logistical standpoint. Beneath that, he is playing for much more.

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The Premier League has essentially become his own personal proving ground. When he made the move from Borussia Dortmund, he left a sour face on a lot of people and his character was put to the question. He was leaving the team that made him a star with a system built around him and he was coming to a team that was a sinking ship.

It’s a lot easier to be a striker in a system built for you than to be a striker at Arsenal, who don’t know what the hell they’re built around.

It’s up to Aubameyang to make the most of this endeavor. He can use this pressure-less opportunity to integrate himself into a new system and gel with new team mates and he can lift them as high as they can go. Or, he can settle, float about and wait for times to get better.

You can guess which one would be more noteworthy.

Against Watford, Aubameyang made a difference. A big one. For having “nothing to play for,” the Gunners sure as hell looked to play for a whole lot, namely Aubameyang, whose goal and assist were both well taken efforts that covered up a rather poorly taken one in the second minute.

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These are the kinds of performances that can dispel the doubts and the hate and push the team forward around a new era of superstars.