Will Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette shine together for Arsenal?
Arsenal fans are excited by the prospect of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette spearheading their attack in the season ahead.
The pair have struck up a friendship off the pitch, but can they strike up an effective partnership on it?
We examine how they fared together last season and assess the ways in which Arsenal’s new head coach Unai Emery is most likely to use them.
The story so far
Aubameyang and Lacazette had to wait for their first start together following the former’s arrival from Borussia Dortmund on the final day of the January transfer window. Aubameyang initially got the nod up front, with Lacazette benched, and the Frenchman was sidelined by a knee injury before he could win back his place in the team.
It was not until Arsenal’s Premier League trip to Newcastle in April that they were named in the same starting line-up, with Lacazette deployed through the middle and Aubameyang stationed on the left of a 4-3-3 formation. It only took 14 minutes for them to successfully combine, with Aubameyang crossing for Lacazette to volley home.
That game ended in a 2-1 defeat for Arsenal, but it was a glimpse of Aubameyang and Lacazette’s potential to work together and there was more encouragement in Arsenal’s wins over Burnley and Huddersfield. As against Newcastle, Aubameyang was positioned on the left on both occasions, but it did not stop him making an impact.
In the 5-0 win over Burnley, he scored the opener from a Lacazette assist and doubled his tally in the second half. In between his goals, he also teed up Alex Iwobi for the fourth. Lacazette was similarly effective, scoring Arsenal’s second goal after providing the assist for Aubameyang’s first.
Aubameyang then scored the final goal of Arsene Wenger’s tenure as Arsenal rounded off the campaign with a 1-0 win at Huddersfield. In three competitive starts together, Aubameyang and Lacazette have therefore contributed a combined total of five goals and three assists between them.
Chemistry
The early evidence suggests Aubameyang and Lacazette have already struck up a good understanding on the pitch and it is a similar story off it. The pair are regularly seen laughing and joking during training sessions and on social media. Last season, Aubameyang even gave Lacazette a late penalty against Stoke when he was on a hat-trick.
Team spirit is important to both players and they are eager to make their partnership work. „I never said Aubameyang’s arrival was bad for me, only people in the press said it was bad,“ Lacazette told reporters after Arsenal’s 5-1 friendly win over Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday.
„I was happy because I knew I could play with him. I didn’t see him as a rival more than a team-mate, so since the beginning I was happy about his signature. Of course, it’s good that we have a good relationship off the pitch. If people are good off the pitch, on the pitch it will be easier to play.“
Aubameyang offered similar sentiments back in April, saying he hoped to get the opportunity to play alongside Lacazette in an interview with Sky Sports. „We have different styles, but I think they’re styles that complement each other – he’s a very good player and a very kind person,“ he said.
„We were once rivals in our days in France, but we’re now friends and I hope we can play well together and score lots of goals.“
Emery’s intentions
Many supporters questioned Wenger’s decision to use Aubameyang on the left rather than as a centre-forward at times last season, but it has been the same story under Emery in some of Arsenal’s pre-season games. The Gabon international started on the left against both Atletico Madrid and Boreham Wood, allowing Lacazette to start up front.
Emery gave Aubameyang opportunities to lead the line in Arsenal’s meetings with Paris Saint-Germain, when he provided the assist for Mesut Ozil’s opener, and Chelsea, but on those occasions there has been no room in the team for Lacazette.
Despite playing fewer minutes than Aubameyang, however, Lacazette has been the more prolific of the pair in Arsenal’s warm-up games. Aubameyang scored a hat-trick against Boreham Wood, but he has not found the net since, with Lacazette scoring twice from the bench against PSG and once more against Chelsea – in addition to his goal against Boreham Wood.
Emery may decide to pick up where Wenger left off and use Aubameyang on the left with Lacazette through the middle, but it is unlikely that he will use them as an old-fashioned centre-forward pairing. The Spaniard generally prefers to use one central striker in either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation.
Lacazette is not comfortable on the left, so unless Emery persists with Aubameyang there, he might find it tricky to fit both players into his starting line-up. It’s up to him to find the right configuration but it’s an exciting prospect for Arsenal regardless.
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is €100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus €100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
.
