Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang creating his own paradox

Arsenal have two world-class strikers, and yet, right now, it’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has created something of a paradox for himself.

Arsenal‘s attack was always going to be the calling card of this club. From the moment this season started, it was clear that the attack was how they were going to do special things, and everything else was playing catch up.

That’s mostly thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, who account for ten of the goals scored by this club, both of whom find themselves in the top ten in the Premier League.

It was against Leicester City that Aubameyang finally separated his own goal tally from that of his striking brother, Lacazette. The two had been perpetually deadlocked all season long, never ending a match on different goal tallies. But against the Foxes, Aubameyang slotted home two goals and Lacazette notched none.

Oddly enough, Aubameyang was not starting. Just like against Fulham, when he wasn’t starting either, yet bagged another brace. Which has created a bit of a lopsided statistic that Aubameyang now has to face, which also creates a paradox for himself.

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As it stands, Aubameyang has made ten appearances in all competitions. He has started eight matches on subbed just two. but in the eight starts, he has only scored only four goals. I don’t need to do the math for you there. That’s a goal every two matches, which isn’t all that great.

Meanwhile, in Aubameyang’s two substitute appearances, he has scored four goals and added an assist. Meaning he is averaging 2.5 goal contributions every time he doesn’t start, and instead comes on as a sub.

So what do you do? You have to say that Aubameyang is too good not to start. He’s a weapon that shouldn’t be limited in the least. But when you look at the production numbers, you have to ask whether or not he is actually being limited by starting matches on the bench and making appearances when he is wound up and the opposing defense is beaten down.

Because right now, it’s looking like he is enjoying that far more than starting matches, where he is scoring a goal every other match. But maybe the sample size is too small to make any definite conclusions yet.

No matter what capacity he’s used in, though, there’s no doubting just how big of a weapon he is, the likes of which we haven’t had in a long, long time.