Arsenal travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in Thursday evening’s Premier League fixture and the Gunners have the opportunity to move into the top four at West Ham's expense while also establishing an eight-point lead over tonight's hosts with a win.
The Arsenal Way discussed on Wednesday morning's Arsenal Agenda show whether Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should start against United. His shocking miss in the 2-0 win over Newcastle at the weekend was also up for discussion amid a worrying slump in form for the Gunners captain.
The Arsenal Way’s editor Hush Kerai spoke to writer and presenter Tom Canton and United On My Mind’s writer Omar Garrick about whether he should start and if he doesn't, who should take his place?
HK: “I have a temptation to play [Alexandre] Lacazette at 10. Because I don’t think [Martin] Odegaard is playing as well as he can. I’m not saying he’s been terrible like some people are. But, it's not been the high-performance level that we saw at the end of last season.
“So, I would think about introducing Lacazette and having him behind Aubameyang. I think it’s too risky to just chuck [Gabriel] Martinelli up front. Especially for a game like United.
“Maybe playing him against a team with less scrutiny on it would be acceptable. The theory I have with Auba is that it depends on what side of the bed he wakes up on that day. In terms of the performance, you get out of it…”
TC: “He’s scored in the last two performances at Old Trafford I think. Then there was that offside thing.”
HK: “We saw that Brighton game before the international break before last. He just didn’t show up for that. A lot of people are saying you know it was really bad weather, a cold away game.
“So, in [tonight's] game, there’s none of that… it won’t be a lack of motivation. It’s at Old Trafford, Manchester United.
“Auba will know that the world is watching and that’s the kind of game he gets up for. In the Spurs game for example he was magnificent. He was pressing, his finishing was tight and passing was good.
“That was the Auba we kind of all wanted to sign. I think we still need to have hope that it works and if it doesn’t then we make the change. So, I’d play him and give him 60 minutes and if the signs are bad then introduce Martinelli.
“I think Mikel has been really good with harmony in the squad by keeping [Albert Sami] Lokonga and [Nuno] Tavares happy, keeping him in the team despite his errors and he’s spoken about that kind of squad management.”
Follow our The Arsenal Way team members Tom, Hush, Omar and Renuka on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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