Arsenal: 4 far too early takeaways from pre-season

3. Aubameyang Looks Sharp and Ready

Isn’t the narrative that this should be a highly critical segment tearing into the captain for missing a gift basket full of chances and needing to be dropped from the team immediately?

That’s not the angle this time.

Indeed, Aubameyang has missed a good few chances. Particularly in the Rangers game where he was guilty of a healthy handful of, well, sitters.

He also looks a lot sharper than he did at the end of last season -that period where he was heavily criticised only for it to turn out he had malaria. When moved to centre-forward after the failed early season left-winger ploy, he actually recorded very strong numbers from around Boxing Day prior to contracting the disease.

What happened following that was entirely expected. He was clearly not fit.

Now in pre-season he looks quick across the ground, has been noticeably more involved in the build-up play and, most importantly of all, is getting into the right spaces to make chances. Yes, he hasn’t put any away. Yet.

With a fully fit Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and a hopeful new central midfielder in the team, if he still isn’t finding the back of the net a serious conversation can be had. For now, the signs are mostly positive.