Speaking on his Invisible Wall Show podcast, Gilberto Silva has claimed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is being misused by Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.
The attacker has gone from being a Golden Boot contender to scoring just twice in the opening 10 games of the season, and Silva seems to believe that a change in system has hampered his abilities.
We’ve seen Aubameyang utilised far more often as a left-winger than as a centre-forward this season, and while Arteta has used him as a central striker in the last couple of games, Silva believes that the change in system hasn’t suited him.
“It’s clear to me that now the line-up has changed, the way he has been played for the last few games, my opinion is that he’s not getting the ball in the best positions to make the game easier for him,” Silva said.
“I think everyone needs to understand that when you have a player like him, he will demand the ball, he wants to get the ball, but you need to make sure you give the ball in the best condition for him.”
Something is clearly not right with Aubameyang this season, and Silva’s view may be right.
Aubameyang has often played on the left to great effect throughout his career, but with Arsenal shifting between a back four and a back five seemingly every other game, the striker has been left playing too far wide, unable to cut inside and get his trademark shots to the far post off.
Pundits have been on the Arsenal captain’s back, but to be fair, he’s not been at his best.
The fact of the matter is that Arsenal are missing that cutting edge and that final ball when Aubameyang is playing through the middle as well, and the fact that Arteta is setting his team up to be so toothless is an issue for his captain.
The Spaniard has spoken about the benefits of overloading crosses into the box, but Aubameyang isn’t the biggest aerial presence in the league, so as Silva says, he’s not getting the ball in the best condition for him.
If Arteta is to turn the Gunners’ season around, he has to help Aubameyang find his best form.
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