Arsenal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: The end or the middle?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has meant a tremendous deal to Arsenal, but with Newcastle up next, are we looking at the end or the middle?

One thing is for sure about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and it’s always been sure, even before he came to Arsenal – you really never know what you are going to get. So much of what makes him special is reliant upon getting him the service he needs to ensure that he gets as many chances as humanly possible.

That said, Aubameyang’s gold comes in bursts. He’s not the kind of guy who is going to score a goal a game and consistently chip in that amount of success. He’s the kind of guy who will score six in three matches and then one in the next seven.

It’s just part of who he is, and part of the team that he now plays for. So, that being said, with Newcastle on the docket and Aubameyang pretty much guaranteed to start, are we looking at a continuation of his burst, or an end to it?

You have to weigh the odds. Go back and look at Aubameyang’s scoring record this year, you’ll see what I was talking about – clumps of goals, and clumps of nothing. It’s what makes Alexandre Lacazette the perfect foil for him, because Lacazette is consistent (mostly) and he helps Aubameyang hit his best.

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That said, while Aubameyang is certainly an enigmatic striker, there are plenty of things to do to increase the odds of him continuing his current burst rather than ending it, and a lot of those things are well within Unai Emery’s current power to deliver on.

For instance, starting Lacazette always provides a boon for Auba. And Lacazette is fit and healthy.

Having wingbacks that can sizzle balls into the box for a poacher like Aubameyang to latch onto always seems to make him better, because, as mentioned, the more opportunity you give him, the better your odds of him doing something special.

And it never hurts putting someone like Mesut Ozil behind him, who, at the blink of an eye, can spring Auba into the open, where he’ll have nothing between him and the back of the net but a keeper who he can beat more times than not.

A lot of this is up to chance. You do have to hope that Aubameyang is in the right mindset and ready to take his chances, but that doesn’t mean you can’t heighten your odds.