Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will add the final-third quality that has been lost with the departures of Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott.
Should Arsenal complete the signing of Aubameyang, they’ll have one of the best number nines in Europe on their hands. A signing of this calibre was necessary after the departure of Alexis.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan should prove a great signing as well with time, but while he may replace Alexis’ creativity, he might not provide the goals. Hence, the signing of Aubameyang will cover the other area Arsenal would have suffered in without the Chilean.
The two are are a similar age. Alexis turned 29 last month, while Aubameyang will do so in June. We’ll be getting a player who should be in his prime, albeit on for a year or two longer. That, though, is where the comparisons end.
In terms of goals, there is little comparison. Alexis’ 80 in 166 appearances is very impressive, but is well-beaten by Aubameyang’s 141 goals in 213 appearance for Dortmund.
It’s important to realise they have very different playing styles, however. What made replacing the now-Manchester United forward so difficult was that he was a creative wide player who could also score every type of goal, from long-range screamers to scruffy tap-ins.
He could hurt teams no matter where he was in the final third. Aubameyang isn’t going to replace that creativity. Sixteen league assists in the last four years in a prolific team tells us that setting people up isn’t his game. Alexis managed 25 in that time.
What Aubameyang will bring is a poacher’s instinct. Alexis had a habit of sniffing out opportunities in the penalty area for headers and tap-ins, something that few other Arsenal players could do.
Aubameyang bases his game around that skill. A map of his league goals over the last four seasons show us that not a single one was scored from outside the penalty area.
This is crucial, as Alexis’ departure and the sale of Theo Walcott and potentially Olivier Giroud would leave us desperately short of poachers. It also highlights the difference in on-pitch demeanour.
Jose Mourinho’s new-boy always wanted the ball and would roam to find it at Arsenal. Much of the Gunners’ play was concentrated through whatever area of the pitch he took up. Aubameyang, on the other hand, is only interested in what’s happening in the penalty area.
Much like Walcott, that means he goes through games without touching the ball all that often. Before, we could give the ball to Alexis anywhere and hope he would do something. But with Aubameyang, we’ll need to create the chances for him to shine.