ENGLISH Premier League side Arsenal have not lived up to the pedigree of their history and the opportunity to reboot their chances this season will begin on a feeble note as their former golden-boot captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and strike-partner Alexandre Lacazette will miss Friday night’s opening game of the season.
Manager Mikel Arteta will be forced to play alternative forwards as the Gabonese captain, who featured in all six of Arsenal’s pre-season games, without finding the net once, is unwell and unavailable for the game against newly promoted side Brentford.
It has been a trying period for Aubameyang in front of goal since signing a new contract to remain at the Emirates. He endured a difficult season in the last campaign though he still managed to score 15 goals in 39 appearances for the north London side, which was a drop from his 22 award-winning tally of 2019.
Arteta still believes his captain has the right mindset and focus to return to that form that made him a threat to defenders in the EPL. It is a huge hope but one that the Gunners will hang on to see the sort of improvements that will better their lot from the disappointing end to last season.
After opening the season with victory in the Community Shield, Arsenal struggled in the Premier League and at one point were staring at the red line of the relegation zone before youngsters like Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe took the challenge head-on to dig them out of the trenches.
Yet, they managed to finish eighth in the division, due to a last minute resurgence that brought in five straight victories at the season’s end. It was also not encouraging that they were only able to win just two of their six pre-season games, against Watford and Millwall.
To worsen Arteta’s headache, Lacazette, who has scored and assisted in pre-season, is also out with illness as well.
It has been an average transfer business for Arteta also. There was financial backing which led to three senior signings that brought in Nuno Tavares from Benfica, Albert Sambi Lokonga from Anderlecht and the big-money acquisition of Arsenal Brighton’s Ben White for £50m.
Yet, as the derby losses to Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur illustrate clearly, there is still more work to do to get the current squad back in form and patch the deficiencies in every department of the squad. Otherwise, beginning on Friday with Brentford, Arteta might find his head on the chopping block quicker than expected.
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