Arsenal are more balanced without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and must stop shoving him to the side

As recently as September last year, Arsenal fans jumped for joy after the news Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had assigned his future to the club in north London.

After almost alone leading the Gunners to FA Cup glory last season, it was imperative that Arsenal make a statement by holding on to their talismanic striker. Aubameyang was to enter into the final year of his contract and not for the first time did the club risk losing one of its best stars for nothing.

At the time, the contract seemed to be worth a total of £ 55 million seemed to be a good deal. But did Arsenal make a mistake after the last seven months?

After regaining order and consulting his linesman, the referee called Mikel Arteta to one side and produced a red card for the player. The Spaniard has done a good job for the most part since taking over at the Emirates Stadium, but after urging the club to break the bank to keep his captain, he has been guilty of taking him into a system that he simply does not fit.

Since Aubameyang arrived at Borussia Dortmund for just £ 60 million, it has undoubtedly been Arsenal’s most potent goal threat. But this season, the goals have dried up. He has so far only nine in the Premier League and although it is not at all catastrophic, he will be judged against the high standards he has set in the past.

The fact that Aubameyang, a player known for his ability to score and not his contribution in the build-up phase, has often been used widely – a position where he looks like a square stick in a round hole – indicates that Arteta is not convinced by his all-round center-forward.

Aubameyang struggled as he played from the flank against West Ham in the team’s latest Premier League outing | Pool / Getty Images

Aubameyang clearly had problems off the field this season and was given some time off to be by her mother’s side when she was ill. It is impossible to know how much impact he has had on his screens, but this goes deeper than just his production. Too often, games have passed him by, but when he scored more often, it was easily swept under the rug.

Arteta’s move to a 4-2-3-1 formation at Boxing Day has improved the Gunners during the second half of the season, but it has more than ever emphasized that the team is more balanced without the 31-year-old.

His pace means he is better equipped to run behind defense than Alexandre Lacazette, but with most sides, Arsenal are turning to applying a low block, this threat is often lifted. With the Frenchman, Arteta has someone who is much more comfortable receiving the ball with his back to goal. He brings out the best in those who play around him and applies the aggressive pressure in a way that Aubameyang does not seem willing.

For the way the Gunners want to play, neither Lacazette nor Aubameyang are perfect, but the former clearly marks more boxes, and the fact that most of Arsenal’s impressive performances this season have come with him leading the line shows that.

The point is not that Aubameyang is a sub-standard striker or that he is in decline. It is simply that, after finding an identity under Arteta, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify playing him out of position just to fit him in the side.