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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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.