Arsenal: Poor Aubameyang display is nothing to worry about

It wasn’t especially pretty on Sunday. There was a lot of pressing and probing around the Watford wall and an obscene number of stoppages courtesy of some less than glamorous opposition tactics. Arsenal got the job done, though.

Emile Smith Rowe grabbed the only goal of the game in controversial fashion as the visitors were left furious at the manner of perceived lack of sportsmanship shown, and while it got a little too nervy for comfort in those late stages Arsenal could and probably should have scored more.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had three quite remarkable touches that could have changed the landscape of the match entirely. Memorable ones, at the least.

The first was poor control that should have set him up for an easy goal but instead ended up as a pass to a clearly offside Bukayo Saka, who fired home only to be undone by VAR.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s poor display against Watford is nothing to worry about as the Arsenal captain has improved in other areas

His second key touch was a poor penalty he fired into the worst part of the goal to try and score from. Neither in the corner or down the middle, his fiercely struck effort was also at a nice height for a goalkeeper to save. Ben Foster does deserve some credit for his role in it, of course.

Finishing off his hat-trick of mishaps was another moment to forget as Martin Odegaard’s goalbound shot was tapped in by the skipper who was clearly stood in an offside position. The Norwegian had come on with a point to prove in the Premier League and his outrage at Aubameyang’s involvement prompted a red-faced apology.

Mikel Arteta said after the match that it was a case of striker’s instinct, which it most definitely came across as. Try telling anyone, let alone the captain and centre-forward, not to get on the scoresheet or make certain of your team scoring with the ball there yearning for your touch.

But on the whole, Aubameyang had a poor day. One of his weaker days this season. Starting off in first gear it was as if he’d forgotten he was using a stick shift and instead thought he was in an automatic.

He came short in the second half to try and get more of a feel for the ball and to link play, showcasing a few neat first time touches. These were attempts to grow into a game that had long since blossomed. Prior to that his control was loose and he was not at the races.

And you know what? That’s totally fine.

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