Arsenal: Don’t you dare split up Aubameyang and Lacazette
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal ran with dual strikers against Manchester United and while it didn’t go perfectly for them, it did so many more important things.
Before the Manchester United match, I wrote something along the lines of “Alexandre Lacazette needs to rescue Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.” The two Arsenal strikers had been a bit of a problem against Tottenham, unable to finish and give the club maximum points, and Aubameyang was a further train wreck against Rennes.
Lacazette, while not in the best mindset himself, needed to do something to lift this striking corps out of the dumps, because it was clear that Aubameyang’s confidence was a disaster and a half.
Against Manchester United. Lacazette dominated attacking play, controlling the ball to perfection. The only thing he didn’t do well was finish, as he certainly deserved at least a goal for that performance.
And then the time came for him to get that goal. He was awarded a bit of a dodgy penalty and who stepped up to take it? Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, looking much like he did prior to the Tottenham match.
The only difference was he exhibited supreme confidence to dink it home, right down the middle. Absolutely brilliant. And after he shook hands and bowed with Lacazette, the favor had been repaid.
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Rewind about a year ago. With Arsenal facing Crystal Palace, Aubameyang was on a brace, with Lacazette in the dumps of a scoring and confidence drought and a penalty was awarded. All figured that Auba had to take it, it would give him his first hat trick as a Gunner, but he handed it to Lacazette, who put it away.
Relief. Ah, sweet relief.
These two are a team. They work in unison. You can’t have one without the other because, if you did, who would be there to pick the other up? There’s is such a masterful partnership such that you will rarely, if ever, have both of them down and out. One or the other is always going to dig in and lift the other up.
So can we stop all the talk about who we’d rather sell? I’m guilty of engaging in it as well, and I regret it. We can’t sell either one of these guys, because you just can’t have one without the other, and I refuse to believe otherwise.
Also, it just wouldn’t be nearly as fun. The way these two feed off each other is pure brilliance.