Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Gabriel Martinelli as central strikers?

Should Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Gabriel Martinelli be considered central strikers? Mikel Arteta’s recent comments suggest they could yet play there in his Arsenal system, though there is reason to think that might be an error.

Arsenal’s consistent use of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as a wide attacker is not the most popular decision among the fanbase. While the Gabonese attacker is brilliant enough to still be prolific while playing away from his preferred central position, there is an increasing belief that the Gunners would be better off with Aubameyang through the middle.

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This line of thought has extended to young Gabriel Martinelli, whose best performances have come when playing as a centre-forward and not the inverted the left-wing role that head Mikel Arteta features in his lopsided 4-2-3-1 system.

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But Arteta has been unwilling to play either in the role. Under Arteta, only has Martinelli played as the central striker, and that was just the final 15 minutes of the second leg against Olympiakos. The Spaniard ostensibly does not want to use either as a centre-forward. And so, with the recent use of Eddie Nketiah through the middle, last week, the Arsenal head coach was asked whether he view either as a centre-forward:

"“Yes, they are but with the squad balance that we have at the moment for that position on the left, we don’t have five players because we are using one of them as a left back, who is not a left back, so we are just trying to adapt to the situation we have today, try to put in the team the players to have a goal threat that can be successful for the team. That is part of managing the players we have.”"

The comments imply that he would be willing to use either Aubameyang or Martinelli through the middle but is currently hamstrung by present injuries and squad options — the return of Kieran Tierney at left-back to free up Bukayo Saka to play forward might be the key domino to fall here. But there is reason to think that Aubameyang or Martinelli as a centre-forward would not work in Arteta’s system, especially the former.

The way that Arteta structures his front three requires extremely specific skill sets from the centre-forward. Playing on the shoulder of the defence, bursting into channels, being sharp in and around the penalty area, and stretching the pitch are not as crucial aspects of the position as in other teams.

Much more reminiscent of Liverpool’s centre-forward role, though not completely the same, Arteta asks the striker to drop off the defence, pulling the centre-backs out of their position to create space in behind for the wide players to run into. The striker must be excellent with their back to the goal. They must be comfortable in receiving the ball under pressure, happy to control difficult passes with defenders on their back, and able to turn into space and then release teammates into space with accurate passes.

Aubameyang cannot play this role. He is a prolific goalscorer, a brilliant attacker with supreme movement off the ball and clinical finishing skills. He struggles to link up play, to be a part of the team’s progressive passing moves, and to help build attacks from deeper positions. It is not a part of his skill set. There is more reason to think that Martinelli can play this role. He is a better dribbler than Aubameyang and is more comfortable in tight situations, but other concerns preside with his lack of physical presence and size — these, it should be said, are natural for any 18-year-old.

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Will Arteta play Aubameyang or Martinelli through the middle when he gets the opportunity to? Perhaps. His comments certainly suggest he will consider it. But should he? Well, that is a very different question altogether.

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