Arsenal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Alexis Sanchez who?

When Alexis Sanchez left Arsenal in the January window, I feared the worst. But with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang now leading the line, I find myself asking: Alexis who?

It’s easy to say in hindsight that keeping Alexis Sanchez into the final year of his contract was probably a mistake. Arsenal did have the chance to sell him on deadline day, but chose not to, worried that they would not be able to sign a viable replacement in time.

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It meant that they limped through the next six months until the January transfer window who was clearly disinterested in the state of the club and wanting to leave. Predictably, it did not go well.

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Nevertheless, when Alexis did come to leave the club, in a trade for Henrikh Mkhitaryan with Manchester United, I was concerned for the state of the team’s attack. Could they continue to be threatening without their most instigating, catalysing attacker? I was doubtful, even with Mkhitaryan coming to the club. But then, a few days later, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived. Suddenly, all was well with the world.

Aubameyang has been a revelation since his arrival. Playing both as a central striker and a left winger, the former Borussia Dortmund forward came to north London known for his astonishing goal-scoring record. He has continued from where he left off, showing a wonderful ability to find and exploit space in even the tightest of penalty areas, and a rare ruthless streak in front of goal that yields an elite goal-scoring record. The same cannot be said for Alexis.

Aubameyang has featured in 1058 Premier League minutes this season. He has scored ten goals, the latest of which came in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town, and added four assists in that time, producing a direct involvement in a goal every 75.57 minutes. Contrast that to Sanchez’s two goals and three assists in 1048 minutes, a direct involvement in a goal every 209.6 minutes, and it’s clear to see who has been the more productive these past few months.

But it doesn’t stop there. In Sanchez’s best season as an Arsenal player, his 24-goal campaign in 2016/17, he averaged a direct involvement in a goal every 94.8 minutes, almost 20 minutes more than Aubameyang’s rate this season. In fact, Sanchez has never been less than at a rate of 120 minutes per goal involvement, which is nowhere near the rate that Aubameyang is currently producing at.

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Of the two players, the statistics aren’t even close. Aubameyang is by far the superior producer. That is wonderful to write. Alexis who?

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