The decline of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
How can Mikel Arteta get his star player firing?
I know what you’re thinking: how can this be Sam when this piece isn’t Virgil Van Dijk propaganda?
Well, it’s about a player who made a big-money move during the same transfer window as the Liverpool centre-back. So there is a link. *smug smile*
When Arsenal signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the 2017/18 winter transfer window, they bagged themselves arguably the best penalty box poacher in the world, at the time. He ended the 2016/17 campaign with 40 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions and the versatile forward had kicked off the new campaign with 21 goals from 24 outings.
Between 2015/16 and when he left the Westfalenstadion, Aubameyang averaged 5.2 touches in the penalty area per 90. He racked up an expected goals average of 0.82 and a goals average of 0.87 from the 3.4 shots the prolific attacker was managing on a per 90 basis.
As shown in the shot map, taken from understat.com, Aubameyang had just 30 shots from outside the penalty box across the 2015/16 and 2016/17 campaigns. The Gabonese marksman was scoring a lot of goals from 12-yards or close and the majority of these arrived from central areas. If you could think up the perfect shot map for a centre-forward, it’d probably be this one. It’s the definition of sustainable.
Then he moved to the Emirates.
He may have claimed the Golden Boot in his first full season with Arsenal, albeit tied with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, and he followed that up with another 22-goal showing last term, but Aubameyang is a shadow of the player he was in Germany. His performances have been scrutinised as of late. After all, he’s without a goal since putting pen to paper on a new £350,000-per-week deal.
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However, the drought isn’t necessarily his fault. His application in some matches could be better but manager Mikel Arteta also has to shoulder some of the blame for the Arsenal No.14 going off the boil. In the loss to Leicester City, Aubameyang had just one touch in the opposition penalty area. Looking at his touch map, you wouldn’t guess it belonged to one of the best strikers of the last decade.
That has everything to do with the way he’s being used and the system he’s being deployed in. This isn’t just a 2020/21 issue. Ever since his move to the Gunners, Aubameyang has been regressing, at least in terms of output.
For example, during the 2017/18 campaign as an Arsenal player, the one-time Milan youngster averaged 4.25 touches in the box. The following season that dropped to 3.86 and last year it was 3.71. So far this term, that figure stands at 2.66.
As expected, with fewer touches in the penalty area, other areas of his game have suffered. On a per 90 basis, he’s yet to average above three shots while his expected goals average last season was 0.38.
Throughout his career, Aubameyang has largely outperformed his expected goals average. So far this season, he hasn’t and his general threat has never been as diminished as it is now. This points towards this decline being heavily down the way he’s being utilised by Arteta.
Between 2016/17 and this season, his shot output has halved and he’s averaging 2.94 fewer touches in the penalty area. What’s worse is the fact his shot selection has worsened over time.
With Borussia Dortmund, he was frugal with his attempts. At Arsenal, not so much. The shot map from Understat.com shows the spread of efforts from the 2019/20 campaign. In total, 24 of his 90 shots arrived from outside of the area. For a bit more context, that’s 26% of his efforts in the Premier League.
It might not seem like much, but during the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons with BVB, shots from outside the box accounted for just 13% of his total in the Bundesliga.
Aubameyang is by no means bad. He’s just being misused and given he’s an output merchant, the fact all his averages are dwindling leaves him open to criticism as he doesn’t really do much else. Arteta needs to protect his star man before Arsenal end up with another Mesut Ozil situation. A world-class player in the right system, on huge money, not involved with the first-team squad.
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