Aubameyang or Lacazette – Who leads the line for Arsenal in 2021/22?

With two top class attacking options at his disposal in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, who does Mikel Arteta pick to lead the Arsenal attack for the upcoming Premier League season?

It is no secret that Arsenal has some serious weapons in the final third. Both Aubameyang and Lacazette have proved up to the task of leading from the front. However, both have shown their shortcomings during games and this has led to Arteta to chop and change at centre-forward.

However, Arteta has caused some angst with his team selections. Often Aubameyang was used out on the left to allow Lacazette to play centrally, a move that did not get the best out of Arsenal’s skipper and too many times he was barely sighted. A passenger.

Through the middle is where Aubameyang is best suited for Arsenal, yet Lacazette offers more for the team than just sheer goalscoring leading to confusion as to which player Arteta selects.

Should Aubameyang or Lacazette lead the line for Arsenal in the 2021/22 Premier League season?

So, who should lead the line for Arsenal this campaign?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

The Arsenal captain had an indifferent 2020/21 campaign. After back-to-back seasons of 22 goals in 2018/19 and 2019/20 in which he played 36 Premier League games, the Gabon international only managed ten goals in his 29 matches.

It was no secret that Aubameyang had his issues last campaign, off the field as well as on the field. Regularly used out on the left-wing in the early beginnings of the campaign, Aubameyang was often the forgotten man as Lacazette was often preferred through the middle.

Then he was used centrally and still Aubameyang did not seem right. Ultimately, he was a by-product of what was happening upfield and as we know, Arsenal left a lot to be desired. The lack of a recongised No. 10 for so long exacerbated the creative issues.

Far too often Arsenal was slow to bring the ball forward, allowing opposing teams to set up behind the ball in two low blocks of four. For someone who has the pace that Aubameyang does, that leaves him little to no room to utilize it.

Often hardly touching the ball during games, Arsenal’s captain was a shell of his lethal self that tore the Premier League apart in his previous two seasons.

Fast forward to pre-season and by all accounts, Aubameyang has looked as sharp as ever, albeit missing several chances against Hibernian and Rangers, something that plagued him last season too. Given he is Arsenal’s captain and has the clear finishing ability he has when up and going, Aubameyang could lead the line for Arteta. He most likely will.

At 32, his instincts needs to be catered to. Let him find space in the danger zones.