Garth Crooks thinks Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is single-handedly keeping Unai Emery in his job. The BBC pundit believes the Gunners boss is overly reliant on the Gabon international.

Aubameyang hit a superb free-kick to seal a 3-2 win against Aston Villa at the weekend and has now scored seven goals already this season.

Crooks says that the Arsenal forward will end his hot streak at some point and he will be interested to see how the Gunners cope:

“I’ve seen this before when managers use strikers as a get out of jail card and the moment the striker’s goals dry up they are the first out the door. Arsenal owe Aubameyang and when he is struggling, and he will, give him a little latitude.”

There’s no doubt that Aubameyang is shouldering a lot of the responsibility at the moment. The absence of Alexandre Lacazette due to an ankle injury does put extra pressure on the 30-year-old to score goals.

Fans will be hoping that Nicolas Pepe’s penalty versus Villa at the weekend will lead to an improvement in his form. Keeping a few more clean sheets would also take some pressure off both the forward line and Emery.