Arsenal: Angry Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang must prove himself right

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was visibly unhappy when Unai Emery substituted him against Newcastle United. The Arsenal striker, though, deserved it. He must now prove otherwise.

As soon as Arsene Wenger announced that he would be resigning, signalling the beginning of a new managerial era at Arsenal, it was evident that many of the players that were formerly protected and mollycoddled under the 22-year manager would no longer enjoy such a cushty position.

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It didn’t even matter who the new manager would be. Just by virtue of the change and influx of new ideas, tactics, evaluations and opinions the players that were formerly liked by Wenger may not be so favoured by the new regime.

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So with Unai Emery now five games into his time in north London, it is obvious that the competition for starting places in the squad is still intense — there are only four players that have played every minute of the season so far, that being Petr Cech, both centre-backs, Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi, and Hector Bellerin.

If therefore, players are not performing at the level that is expected of them or required of them, Emery has no loyalty to anyone in the squad and it is easy for him to be ruthless with his changes, as we have seen with his substitutions in all five matches so far. And the latest star to be hooked early is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He was not happy about it, though Emery welcomed his fire and fight in his press conference after the 2-1 win over Newcastle United:

"“It’s normal. I want the players when I change the team or when I decide them not to start them in the first XI to be angry and have ambition to play and help the team and stay on the pitch. For me it’s a normal situation.”"

Aubameyang obviously felt that he could still help the team. He was visibly angry at being taken off, would have been chasing a goal for sure, which is his most natural and basic mindset, and likely believed that he did not deserve to be substituted. Emery, for whatever reason, disagreed.

Objectivity doesn’t really matter in this scenario. Did Aubameyang actually deserve to be substituted or not? No one really knows. It is the subjective perspective of Emery that is the only one that matters. That is who Aubameyang, and the rest of his teammates, for that matter, must convince that they are worth featuring in the starting XI. Aubameyang must prove himself right and Emery wrong.

Emery has sole control over the selection of the team. He decides what system to play based on a number of factors including the opposition, the form of his team, the players that are unavailable for selection through injuries or suspensions. He decides what players fit best in that system and how they measure up against the opposition. He decides who plays and who doesn’t.

Aubameyang may be upset at being substituted, but the solution is very simple: he needs to play better such that Emery is convinced not to substitute him. It may seem a little obvious, but this inner-competition is something that Arsenal never had under Wenger. Now, with Emery at the helm, perhaps they can finally take advantage of it.