Gael Clichy has claimed that the ‘quality’ Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang needs to play down the middle for Arsenal, as he told Stadium Astro.
The former left-back shared that the versatile Arsenal star ‘offers more’ as a number nine than a winger.
Aubameyang played out on the left during Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa and he got on the scoresheet.
In back-to-back games this week, Aubameyang has found the back of the net, first playing down the middle against Palace and the drifting from the left on Friday night, with Alexandre Lacazette donning that striker role.
Clichy spoke about Aubameyang’s problematic form last season and why that is now changing, as he also wants Mikel Arteta to play him in his ‘right position’.
“His form wasn’t great, because as a striker you need to score goals,” said Clichy. “People want to see goals. But you also kind of depend on your teammates. You need to be served. You need to be fed.
“Perhaps this time last season, Arsenal wasn’t performing as a team, or a club. So, you can’t be surprised that your main goal threat is not available.
“I am happy for him because he is a great guy. He has quality and he only being outnumbered by Mo Salah, who is probably one of the best players in Europe, I think speaks for itself.
“They will need Aubameyang scoring a lot of goals to have a great season. I think it’s important you keep your player in the right positions. I think Aubameyang offers more down the middle, than on the wings.”
One obvious change from Arsenal’s £56 million player (BBC Sport) has been how he is leading the press for the rest of the team.
That is something that hasn’t been previously associated with Aubameyang, but he is non-stop and in-your-face now.
That’s infectious, because it’s rubbing off on the Arsenal young guns, and they have plenty of them, including the Hale-End duo Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka.
The key thing for Aubameyang and the rest of this Arsenal team now is finding that consistency, because a lack of that is hurting them badly.
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