Arsenal: Poor Aubameyang display is nothing to worry about

Aubameyang Had an Off Day for Arsenal – No More

Precious little came off for Aubameyang on Sunday.

What differs from if this were last season is the other parts of his game that have come to the fore. He may have started sluggishly, but Aubameyang leads the team in pressures this season and his tackling numbers have risen dramatically as a result.

Arteta discounted the goal involvements when discussing Lacazette and the skipper recently to instead focus heavily on what they ‘transmit’ in their newfound leadership. That energy is infectious and Aubameyang has looked more like a leader this season than he ever has before, even when he was winning the Golden Boot.

But he is scoring. He is the club’s leading scorer this campaign. What he offers off the ball in his work rate and the positions he picks up to be able to add threat remains a strong point in his game.

Coming under stinging criticism for his performance against Watford, while it was justified in many ways, much of it has discounted the other much improved facets of his repertoire.

Trying to find reason for his outing most likely ends you up at the ‘an off day’ conclusion.

As fit and quick as he remains, just like speaking of the younger players and their unavoidable flirts with inconsistency at this stage of their development, Aubameyang is 32 years old and he will also have matches where he isn’t at the races.

Having poor showings from him on the ball as seen on Sunday are drastically more palatable now he’s added this new string to his bow. Going from being ineffective in and out of possession last season, there will now be the occasional matches where he is only one of those things. They will happen every now and then. It’s to be expected.

However, the part off the ball has changed. He’s fully invested in what is taking place at Arsenal and that can’t be forgotten.