Arsenal have every right to feel frustrated at Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, says Nigel Winterburn, with the Gabonese striker having netted just once in his last six appearances.
Aubameyang was on target in the Community Shield, as Arsenal edged out Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties, before also hitting the net in an opening day win over Fulham.
Just one more effort has been added to his tally since then, in the Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna, and questions are being asked of a man tied to a lucrative contract.
Winterburn admits that Aubameyang needs to be offering more, even if playing out wide, with Alexandre Lacazette another proven frontman that is failing to fire at present.
The former Gunners defender told FreeSuperTips: “Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has certainly been less effective out wide. If you look back at all the games that he has played for Arsenal, he has started from the wide positions and has been scoring a lot of goals.
“It is hard to say whether he would be more effective playing down the middle because he has been pushed wide to fit in Alexandre Lacazette. However right now, Lacazette is going through a dry patch in terms of scoring goals and not being that game changer for Arsenal that he once was.
“You have to consider that maybe he is not getting the service into the box, so when your team isn’t creating as many chances, there is always the claim that Aubameyang should play through the middle and be the main centre forward.
“Arsenal have many options in the wide areas, with the likes of [Nicolas] Pepe, Willian and Bukayo Saka. Mikel Arteta may look at it and think it hasn’t been working and change it.
“The fans will be rightly frustrated because he [Aubameyang] is the top goal scorer and currently, he is not putting the ball in the back of the net, not just because he is playing out wide, there is a lot more to it than that.”
Aubameyang was an unused substitute as Arsenal eased past Dundalk 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday, with Arteta opting to rest him ahead of a return to Premier League action on Sunday away at Manchester United.