Arsenal: You cannot exactly blame Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stated after the Watford game that Arsenal are ‘literally giving goals to the opposition’. While it is not ideal to say publicly, you cannot exactly blame him.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang notched his 13th and 14th goal in his last 14 games on Sunday. He then proceeded to watch his Arsenal teammates pass and tackle their way to utterly wasting his contributions.

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First, it was Sokratis, playing a misguided pass out of the penalty area that fell to Tom Cleverly after a toed interception, the ball then smashed past Bernd Leno. Then it was David Luiz’s turn, felling Roberto Pereyra in the penalty area for a stonewall penalty, the second he has conceded this season, the third in three consecutive matches.

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Aubameyang did precisely what he is paid to do, score goals seemingly from nothing — his first was particularly spectacular, controlling the ball on the edge of the area, spinning, and prodding into the near post of the goal, taking everyone, including Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster by surprise. But his teammates could not hold up their side of the bargain.

And in the aftermath of the 2-2 draw, Aubamayeng threw them under the bus. Speaking to Canal Plus, the centre-forward said:

"“Obviously we didn’t expect that. We knew that they were going to try and come back with good intentions, of the kind they demonstrated in the second half. Sadly, we were not able to deal with them well. I feel like we are literally giving goals to the opposition, it is up to us to progress in that respect.”"

Now, saying ‘we are literally giving goals to the opposition’ in public is not exactly the best way to deal with this situation. It might be true, but these things should be said behind closed doors, in the dressing room, between the players, not in the vociferous public light of the media.

Usually, I would be quite critical of a player discussing private issues publicly, especially when it includes being so critical of their teammates. But sometimes, the exasperation just gets the better of you. The frustration is too much. Acting calmly is just too much to ask. And for Aubameyang, at present, this must be one of those times.

Last year, he scored 30% of Arsenal’s goals. That is already a concerningly high proportion. This year, that figure has risen to 62.5% which is extremely troubling. Given that Alexandre Lacazette, who is currently out injured, and Lucas Torreira, a defensive midfielder, are the only other players to score this season, the Gunners’ dependency on Aubameyang is quite plain.

Aubameyang, quite simply, must have had enough of his teammates. And, to be honest, you can hardly blame him.