Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang aided by team spirit

Pierre-Emerick was handed the penalty in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United. His recent dip in form and confidence will be aided by the collective team spirit.

It was noticeable last season that not everyone in the Arsenal squad was especially supportive of Alexis Sanchez. He scored twice in a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace shortly before he was moved to Manchester United. Very few players celebrated with him. Sanchez was not happy about it.

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Last season, the Arsenal dressing room was not a harmonious one. And that is something that is a major problem for then manager Arsene Wenger, who has always veered away from different characters who he believes may upset the character balance of the squad. But this season, the story has been very different indeed.

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Although there have been serious shortcomings in specific areas, one thing that has been clear throughout the season is that Unai Emery has cultivated an extremely positive feeling in and around the club. The atmosphere has been enthused at the Emirates, the players have looked a lot more collective and encouraging of one another, and it has led to an attacking, bold, vibrant style on the pitch.

In Sunday’s 2-0 win over Manchester United, there was a prime example of this engineered but now seemingly more natural togetherness. Pierre-Emerick had not been in great form. He played extremely poorly in Thursday’s 3-1 defeat to Rennes. He missed a game-winning penalty against Spurs the week before. He had scored just once in his previous seven appearances and was looking increasingly downheartened.

And then a chance to begin the redeeming process arose. Another penalty. To put Arsenal two goals up and effectively win the match. Perhaps a different team might have turned to a different taker. There were plenty of capable options on the pitch, no less Alexandre Lacazette who has a superb record from the spot.

But it was actually Lacazette himself who picked the ball up, handed it to Aubameyang, and held his strike partner’s neck between his hands, leaned his head into Aubameyang’s head, and shouted words of encouragement. It was reminiscent of a match against Stoke City last season when Lacazette was struggling for form. Aubameyang, on a hat-trick, reliqnuished the chance to complete it from the penalty spot and handed the ball to Lacazette. He wanted Lacazette to regain his confidence. The same was happening here.

After Sunday’s win, Emery, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Bernd Leno and Granit Xhaka all praised Aubameyang’s bottle for taking the penalty after the miss against Spurs. They wanted to publicly mirror the support that they have provided the striker in private. This is an encouraging dressing room, and it will help Aubameyang out of his recent funk.

This is not something that should be looked over as airy-fairy. The togetherness of a squad matters, and Arsenal, under Emery’s guidance, have mastered it. Sunday and Aubameyang’s penalty was simply more proof of that.