Arsenal Vs Newcastle United: 5 things we learned – Reaching the cliff

2. Lacazette and Aubameyang work well

If there was one positive to come from this absolute calamity, then it was the link-up play of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette — In fairness, Alex Iwobi was also bright at times. This was the first game that the two have started alongside one another, with Aubameyang shifting to the left wing to accommodate the French striker. It was a system that showed some promise.

Obviously, there is the goal: Aubameyang scampers onto a long pass over the top of the Newcastle defence in the inside-left channel, squaring for Lacazette who finished well with a stretched volley. But more than that, the shared intelligence of their movement, the rotational play, with Aubameyang darting inwards from wide positions and Lacazette drifting away from central zones, and the clever touches between the two were encouraging.

This was perhaps one of the biggest questions that Arsenal and Wenger had to answer between now and the close of the year. Some have suggested that it would be nice to see the two play both as strikers. That has not yet happened with Aubameyang out wide, but at least this is a compromise of some form.