Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang “solidarity” absolutely magnificent

Arsenal made a nervy go of it against Stoke City, but if you waited until the end, you were rewarded, with true team spirit like this club deserves.

Arsenal’s win against Stoke City was a chore to watch for about the first 70 minutes. But then things started to get good. Both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette were on the pitch together for the first time in months and to say that it was refreshing would be an understatement.

Once they started to settle in along with Mesut Ozil, the supercharge was back in this Gunner’s attack. It was mildly worrying that it took the right combination to get back there, but hey, it is what it is.

It’s not been a good season. The best we can do at this point – in Premier League action at least – is to look forward to next year and how we might be able to line up.

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For me, the biggest question is how you keep both Aubameyang and Lacazette happy. It’s no easy feat, and it’s definitely something we need to be thinking about as we head into a summer window where the latter has already been linked to a premature exit.

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It’s hard for us, as fans, to glean much of how players get along. All we get are 90 minute windows into their lives together and, unless your Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey, that really isn’t enough to determine how two players get along.

I’m speaking, of course, about Lacazette and Aubameyang. A friendly competitive streak in players is fantastic to have. Olivier Giroud literally asked for Arsene Wenger to provide him that by signing Karim Benzema. The two had a good personal relationship from international duty and, to Giroud, that was what was needed to get the best out of the team.

That should be the goal for Aubameyang and Lacazette. A friendly competition. I say friendly because you don’t want them hating each other.

At the end of the Arsenal match against Stoke, when Lacazette went down in the box, there was a question mark. Aubameyang would be wanting it to go for his hat trick, wouldn’t he?

Only he didn’t. He passed up on his chance for an early hat trick in his Arsenal career and instead allowed a flustered, frustrated Lacazette to get back to his scoring ways after months and months of hurt and struggle.

Next: Arsenal vs Stoke City Player Ratings

When he tucked it away, there were no questions left in my mind. Maybe I’m being a simpleton about this, but seeing them coexist in a friendly manner like that, showcasing team solidarity to the utmost. As I said, in a season of disappointment, it’s moments like that that are truly special.