Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has right to be disappointed

Per Guillem Balague, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is disappointed with the performance of some of his Arsenal teammates. Well, he has the right to be.

It’s not been a positive few years for Arsenal. While this is a club that is expected to win things, the very fact of the matter is simple: They don’t. They are not the ruthless winners that they used to be; they do not harness a winning culture that the perception believes them to.

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And that can sometimes be a little bit of a shock for players coming to this club. Perhaps they see World Cup winners, European masters of their art, the esteemed Arsene Wenger, and expect to enter a club that is a well-oiled, winning machine. And then they don’t.

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That is certainly what Guillem Balague’s recent comments suggest. While doing a Q and A with Sky Sports, Balague was asked about what changes need to be made by the new manager. Balague, who is very much a man in the know, raised the blinkered focus of the fan on the defending and suggested that this missed the mark a little. I think he is right, but to explain why, I need to jump forward a little.

This is what Balague had to say in regards to the happiness of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang:

"“I am hearing Aubemayang is disappointed on the attitude of the team. I think deep down he wants to see more from everyone.”"

You see, Aubameyang has arrived at a supposedly winning club, only to find that it resembles little of the winning elements that he has encountered at previous clubs. Admittedly, reading from his body language, this is not necessarily an attitude that I had detected. Nevertheless, given his use to winning, it would not surprise if he is a little frustrated.

Balague continues:

"“Arsenal don’t only have to solve the defence. It is a culture within the club that has to change and is changing. Defence starts at the front. Everybody has to work hard. Everybody. Players have got quality but need a new face, new messages, and need to come out of their comfort zone.”"

This, for me, is why Aubameyang has a right to feel aggrieved with his teammates and with the club in general. The culture that is there is not one that facilitates winning. It is too soft, too happy to settle for mediocrity, too lenient, too settled in its outdated practices. And it is from the culture that the many problems like the defensive mistakes stem.

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It is only in changing the culture that the other weaknesses can subsequently be addressed and altered. That is what Aubameyang is disappointed at. It is what needs to change. It is the most important issue that the new manager must change when he arrives. Only then will Arsenal be able to satisfy the true winners like Aubameyang.