Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the winger has an advantage

There aren’t many people that advocate for Arsenal using Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as a winger, but against Everton, we may have seen the advantage.

It was just earlier this week that I was writing about how someone needed to tell Mikel Arteta that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a striker. I think that was the exact title. But for whatever reason, ever since Arteta took over Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had yet to play striker. He was exclusively a left winger.

But against Newcastle, and now against Everton, we’ve seen a distinct advantage that Aubameyang the winger has over Aubameyang the striker. We’ve already talked about the extra space he can find. That was evident on Arsenal’s second goal against Everton.

Luiz just had to wait for Aubameyang to shoot the gap that he probably wouldn’t have had as easy a time finding up top, where there would be less space and a keeper to contest with as well.

But against Everton, the other big advantage was evident again—it’s easier for a winger to sneak uncontested into the box than it is for a striker.

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Two matches in a row now, Aubameyang has found himself completely alone for a free header in the box. Both times he was picked out by Nicolas Pepe, his opposite number on the right wing, and both times Aubameyang headed home easy as you like.

I don’t think that happens if he’s playing striker. When you have him front and center, defenses see him. They see him all day. But as a winger, he has the flexibility to ebb and flow as he sees fit, which lets him avoid the radar of opposing defenses.

The caveat is you need a striker that commands attention in order for this to work. Because without a striker that commands attention, they can just redirect that attention to Aubameyang and the point is all lost. And against Everton, Eddie Nketiah was commanding attention. But he was also ebbing and flowing, not unlike Aubameyang.

Alexandre Lacazette really hasn’t done that for Aubameyang this year. He’s been so static and desperate that it hasn’t been conducive to the attack as a whole, nor has it been good for Aubameyang’s consistency.

I’m still not completely sold on Aubameyang being a winger, mostly because it prevents Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli from starting, but as long as he keeps scoring, I don’t have anything to say. Goals shut people like me up.