Arsenal Vs Napoli: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a necessity

Unai Emery has said that Pierre-Emerick is fit enough to start against Napoli on Thursday night. Because of Arsenal’s defensive frailties, his presence and goals are a necessity.

For the past two matches, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has sat on the bench. The centre-forward, who is Arsenal’s top goalscorer and primary attacking foil alongside Alexandre Lacazette, has been dealing with an illness that has prevented him from being able to play a full 90 minutes. He has come off the bench in both outings.

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His absence has been noticeable. While Lacazette is an excellent lone centre-forward with the touch and strength to hold up play, the speed of Aubameyang helps open up space for the Frenchman in and around the penalty. It is no surprise that Lacazette scored his only goal of the past two matches from an Aubameyang header.

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But ahead of Napoli’s trip to the Emirates on Thursday night in the first leg of the upcoming Europa League quarter-final, Emery, in his pre-match press conference, confirmed that Aubameyang would be fit enough to start:

"“He’s getting better and can start. He had a small problem and he has taken antibiotics for his illness. That’s the main reason he didn’t start those two matches.”"

That does not confirm whether Aubameyang will actually start. But if he doesn’t, it is a tactical decision, not one that has been forced through extenuating circumstances like injury or illness. Given that, I think it is an absolute necessity that Aubameyang features from the start on Thursday.

Napoli are an excellent team. Not only that, they are perfectly suited to exploit Arsenal’s weaknesses. They have speed in the wide channels, they are strong defensively, although less so recently, and they have great know-how in European competition. Very much akin to Atletico Madrid last season, Napoli have great experience in the latter stages of the best tournaments in world football.

Specifically, it is the Gunners’ notorious defensive problems that pose the biggest issue for Emery to solve. And such is the extent of those vulnerabilities, especially with a less-than-fully-fit Laurent Koscielny and Granit Xhaka, that trying to remedy them by sticking a plaster over the positions of weakness would be futile.

For Arsenal, it is very much a case of attack being the best form of defence. We have seen their lack of solidity and structure many times this season. Would it not be more prudent to throw caution to the wind and rely on the strengths of the squad, scoring goals with two excellent centre-forwards?

It is brave. Some might even call it foolish. But it might be the best way for Emery to set his team up. And if that much is true, then Aubameyang is absolutely essential to success.