Over the last several years, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's quality has never been doubted and rightly so. However, times are beginning to change.
The 32-year-old who signed a new contract last year has struggled to replicate the form of his Borussia Dortmund and early Arsenal days.
Last season, Aubameyang endured one of his worst, scoring just 15 times in 39 appearances. So far in the current league campaign, the Gabon international has only managed to find the net on 3 occasions in 7 games.
One of those came against Crystal Palace on Monday, and it must be said, it was a very decent finish. However, apart from that one bright spark and a few moments of valuable tracking back, the Arsenal captain struggled to make a big difference once again.
Alexandre Lacazette, who has only made 5 appearances in all competitions so far this season, started on the bench against Patrick Vieira's side but was introduced with only little time remaining.
The Gunners found themselves 2-1 down and desperately lacked enthusiasm, energy and ideas, but the Frenchman changed that from the 67th minute.
As soon as he entered the pitch, he looked up for the challenge. Making clever runs, linking up nicely with Aubameyang, getting himself into some good positions and being a real handful, Lacazette had a very positive impact on the team's performance just before full-time.
At the time of his introduction, I said Lacazette looked up for it and was going to score, he didn't let me down. The Emirates Stadium erupted into life after his dramatic equaliser in the 95th minute and earned the team a point despite it looking like they would come away with nothing.
He was only on the pitch for around 25 minutes, but the difference Lacazette made was clear for all to see and for that, he deserves huge credit. For me, it really highlighted the difference between his mentality and Aubameyang's.
Both players want to score goals, win games, but Lacazette's inject of passion and eagerness to change the game on Monday ultimately made the difference. Now, I'm not saying Aubameyang doesn't have similar attributes, but we hardly ever see the same effect from him in games anymore, and that's a huge concern.
As well as being one of the highest earners at the club, Aubameyang is also one of the first names on the teamsheet. He should be happy and pumped up every week, he is our captain. Despite this, sometimes he comes across as someone who's hardly playing any games. He can be quiet, find it difficult to get involved and has, on occasions, even been wasteful in front of goal.
Meanwhile, it is actually Lacazette who has found himself out of favour lately, yet he is the one who sparked Arsenal into life against Palace. He has remained professional and is still giving 110% despite his situation which I applaud him for. And right now, it has left me open to the idea of him starting against Aston Villa on Friday.
Amongst the midst of all this happening, it leaves Edu with an important decision to make ahead of the January and summer transfer windows; Does he extend Lacazette's stay to keep Aubameyang on his toes or does he cash in whilst he can before it's too late?
Whatever the future holds for him, one thing you cannot doubt is Laca's love for Arsenal FC.
Do you want Lacazette to stay? Follow our new Arsenal Fan Brands Writer Chris Davison on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
