Which players will the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang affect the most?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s impending arrival at Arsenal will bring a plethora of exciting attributes to the north London club: raw pace, good hold-up play and almost unrivalled clinicalness in front of goal. During his four-and-a-half years at Borussia Dortmund he has matured into the complete forward, and a £55m fee – while still a club record – looks like a snip in the current market. But barely six months ago Arsenal paid a similar figure for Alexandre Lacazette, deemed the answer to their striker woes, and Aubameyang’s arrival seems to bring him into conflict with that signing. As well as hinting at some mistakes in their recruitment last summer, the Gabonese striker will likely necessitate a change in formation, creating almost as many problems as he solves…

The major question surrounding Aubameyang’s arrival is whether or not he can play in tandem with Lacazette. Not since Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp led the line together has Arsene Wenger used a strike partnership for any prolonged period of time, but even then the Dutchman was more of a No.10, dropping deep and linking play. Arsenal’s new duo are both out-and-out frontmen. Admittedly, both have had spells on the wing but never with the same level of success as playing through the middle. When Aubameyang first arrived at Dortmund he lined up on the right, flanking main man Robert Lewandowski; it was only when the Pole joined Bayern that Aubameyang really started to flourish. Lacazette, meanwhile, played off Bafetimbi Gomis when he was breaking into the Lyon first team.

 Neither player feels entirely suited to playing on the wing now, despite their good pace, nor are they particularly creative. Aubameyang is a player who owes much of his prowess to the incredibly high quality of chances he receives, with seven Dortmund players creating chances more regularly this season. The same number of Arsenal players have created more chances than Lacazette – though two (Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain) have now left the club. It seems likely that the Frenchman will make way for Aubameyang, not least because of Wenger’s obvious doubts over his ability to lead the line in the Premier League. Lacazette has looked rather slight compared to the division’s plethora of burly centre-backs, while he has completed the full 90 minutes in just six of his 24 appearances. He could find himself relegated to the Europa League ‘B’ team sooner rather than later, especially with Aubameyang cup-tied for that competition.
 

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