Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wonderful to watch when you shouldn’t

When you watch a game of football, you tend to focus on the ball. That is where most of the action is. But Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is wonderful to watch when he shouldn’t be watched. He is a joy to behold when he doesn’t have the ball.

Football is a joyous game to watch. That is why we all love it so much. There is beauty in its motion. But when we watch games, we tend, as does the camera, to focus on the ball. The brilliance of a pass, the silky skills, the sumptuous touch, the tantalising dribble or smashing challenge.

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However, when it comes to Arsenal centre-forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the game becomes all that much more enjoyable when you take your eyes off the ball and watch him almost when you shouldn’t.

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Because of the focus that is given to the ball, in large part due to the amount of action that surrounds it, it is very easy to overlook the more nuanced aspects of the sport. But if you were to watch Aubameyang move when he does not have the ball, you behold a man who has mastered his art, that is, the art of goalscoring.

We saw him it has most wonderful best on Sunday. The two goals that he scored against Burnley were textbook when it comes to movement. The first, a shimmy and dart to split the Burney centre-halves, recognising the cross-shot of Alexandre Lacazette, sliding the ball into the empty net at the far post; the second, a curved run from the near post into a pocket of space on the edge of the six-yard box for Hector Bellerin to pick him out.

And again, in Wednesday night’s 3-1 loss to Leicester City, Aubameyang added the ninth goal of his Arsenal career thanks to the insightfulness of his movement.

This time, it was Ainsley Maitland-Niles who powered into the penalty area. Aubameyang, already anticipating a chance, had moved into the six-yard box. But then, to create that extra yard of space, he slowly drifted off the shoulder of both Harry Maguire and Wes Morgan, and while he needed two bites at the cherry to score, he did eventually slam the ball into the roof of the net.

Combined with his movement against Burnley just a few days prior, Aubameyang, this past week, has put on a clinic in how to move as a centre-forward. He finds space so intelligently, and then has the sharpness and speed to exploit it with razor-sharp quickness, not allowing defenders to react the looming danger.

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It’s funny. Aubameyang is better off the ball than he is on it. That is not to say that he is poor technically. It is simply how brilliant in his movement. He is one of the best that I have ever seen. He is an utter joy to watch, especially when you shouldn’t be watching him at all.