Whether because of the helplessness he provokes when he is against you on FIFA or because you have watched him score countless goals for Dortmund in the past five years, you will be well aware of Aubameyang’s blistering pace. He plays at a speed unlike any other Arsenal striker under Arsene Wenger. It goes without saying, this is a tremendous asset but it also begs the question of whether Wenger can redesign his game in a way which allows Aubameyang to perform to his standards.
At least in the last ten years, Arsenal have been at their best when they were able to control possession for long periods of the match in the opposition’s half, moving the ball quickly and precisely to the point of suffocating the rival’s defense. Yet is this brand of football what will allow Aubameyang to reach the scintillating heights he reached in Germany?
I believe that for Aubameyang to contribute in the best way he can, we will need to change our way of approaching matches. If we keep striving to maintain possession for long periods of time, we will always find an opposition’s defense likely to sit deep, cutting out the possibility of playing balls in behind. At which point, Aubameyang’s deadliness is curtailed and he becomes no better than countless other strikers in Arsenal’s recent history. So Arsenal need to redevelop into a team able to draw the opposition’s backline out in order to utilise Aubameyang’s pace playing him balls through. However, this is a lot easier said than done.
In matches against lesser opposition, we will need to improve the speed at which we’re able to capitalise on the few chances to break we may get. A smaller club will rarely allow the gaps in behind and this is where players such as Wilshere and Mkhitaryan will be crucial. They are the ones that can pick through an opposition’s defence from deep to ignite Aubameyang.
A bigger problem, for me, will be whether the Gunners will develop a style of football where Aubameyang will thrive, even against the bigger clubs they will face. While it is true that stronger opposition will be more enterprising and adventurous, and perhaps play higher backlines, Arsenal are just not programmed to defend and counter quickly. In big matches, it could be optimal to be neat and tidy in the back, soak up pressure, draw the opposition out and then break into the open spaces with Aubameyang’s pace. But can Arsenal trust their defensive unit to keep the opposition out if put under pressure?
Before the match against Spurs, I would have said no. Nevertheless, the first forty-nine minutes of the match against Spurs has given me hope that Arsenal can restyle their football to bring the best out of the new record-signing. The back four were tidy and the line of five midfielders acted as a good screen. They were undone by a piece of excellent attacking play by Spurs and lost their composure for the rest of the match, conceding several more chances. So while not perfect, the set up against Tottenham may be a blueprint (to be improved of course) of what Arsenal could look to do more often.
So all in all, while I am skeptical that Wenger made the right signing for his style of football, I am more confident that Aubameyang can be the right signing for Arsenal’s future. And perhaps a drastic change in style might not be so bad considering the not exactly dazzling results in recent times!
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