Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looked deflated after he was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli 15 minutes from the end of the 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool last night.
The 31-year-old trudged around the side of the pitch before remembering to hand over the captain’s armband to Alexandre Lacazette. Both his leadership skills and form were called into question by fans and pundits alike after the game.
Supporters on Twitter did not hold back with their criticism of Aubameyang who, once again, put in an anonymous performance:
All he does is dress up!!!??
— ifey (@Ifeyinwaee) April 4, 2021
The “captains “ performance and body language tells you all you need to know
— Joseph crowe (@Josephcrowe4) April 3, 2021
All what aubameyang does is his hair do and his look..
As long as his pay hit his bank account.— òmowé Ajayi ? (@oluwasehunn) April 3, 2021
Seriously he looks lost.
— George Ocran (@dzeordx) April 3, 2021
That guy cannot lead the team
— Mr. Boarden (@PrinceOdei3) April 3, 2021
Arsenal played without captain, Auba just an armband holder not a leader..
— MotangCules (@FerdinS5) April 4, 2021
Auba when he's firing he's a talisman to this team.. but a captain, NO.
— JudahRising_AFC (@NdolaG) April 4, 2021
No motivation what so ever, no leadership or grit and determination that you need in a captain. #COYG #Arsenal
— 71Gooner (@Mickyb2171) April 4, 2021
There are some excuses that can be made for Aubameyang. First of all, manager Mikel Arteta’s tactics hardly helped, with the Gabonese international pretty much playing left-back for most of the match, with the Gunners intending to sit deep and hit on the counter-attack.
Even so, his lack of energy and work rate was concerning and he never troubled an opposition defence that currently has two very inexperienced centre-backs in Ozan Kabak and Nat Phillips. A lot more is expected of the club’s talisman.
