Arsenal: Yes, compromising Aubameyang for Lacazette helps

Arsene Wenger has suggested that he can shift Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the left flank to accommodate Alexandre Lacazette. While that compromises the former, it would still help this Arsenal side, as evidenced on Sunday against Stoke City.

There are several questions to arise from Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Stoke City on Sunday afternoon: Why were the Gunners so sloppy in possession in the first half? Will Jack Wilshere ever re-discover that true burst and sharpness that he used to possess? Is Calum Chambers a genuine consideration to succeed Laurent Koscielny next season?

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However, the most pertinent of all centres on the role of the centre-forward, the personnel that deserve to partake in that role, and the contorting of tactics and shape that may have to insue as a result. I am, of course, talking of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and whether it is possible to squeeze both into the same team without upsetting the balance.

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As soon as Aubameyang was signed on deadline day in the January transfer window, the Laczette conundrum was one that was somewhat confusing and unsettled. It seemed, from the onset, that he would simply slip to the bench. Harsh for a club-record addition only six months earlier who had shown signs of great promise. But now, it looks as though Arsene Wenger may have altered his thinking a little.

Speaking after the Stoke win on Sunday, Wenger, when asked about fitting Lacazette and Aubameyang, had this to say:

"“Yes, I think they can play together <…> I think Aubameyang played a long part of his career on the left, at St Etienne, and in the first year at Dortmund [with Lewandowski], he played on the left. After, when Lewandowski moved to Bayern Munich, he played centrally.”"

Aubameyang is a far more natural centre-forward. It his better position. But in compromising his best position and shifting to a wide role, Arsenal, as a collective unit may actually improve.

One thing that it does is provide real pace, energy, and directness in wide areas. With Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, there is only really Danny Welbeck who can provide such speed on the flanks. Aubameyang certainly has speed, and when out wide, he also perhaps has more space to work in, as displayed when Mesut Ozil slid a lovely through-pass into his path to set-up a one-on-one opportunity.

But it also provides a player who likes to be the focal point of the team as the central striker. While Aubameyang is the better player and overall striker, Lacazette’s touch, hold-up ability, and combination play is far superior. He likes to drop deep, to get involved in the build-up, and then to scamper into a channel. Aubameyang would much rather play on the peripheries of the game, only coming into the equation in the final moments of attacking moves. That is fine when it comes to scoring goals, but sometimes the team struggles to pick its way through the midfield lines with a striker that is solely intent on receiving the ball as late as possible.

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It remains to be seen whether Wenger will indeed implement this plan. He may have used it for half-an-hour against Stoke, but it is a very different prospect to start with it. Nevertheless, it is something that I would like to see. It may compromise Lacazette, but it might just help the team in general.