If nothing else it is clear that whatever plans Mikel Arteta has for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang they do not revolve around him playing as a centre forward.
Neither Eddie Nketiah nor Alexandre Lacazette grasped the chance to lead the line in Arsenal’s woeful return to Premier League action, less Project Restart and more Project actually your whole system is a mess I’m afraid, mate, you’re going to need to restore it to factory settings.
To his credit Arteta is trying whatever he can to fix things. The trip to Southampton brought with it another new system and another new role for Bukayo Saka, now the left wing-back in a 5-2-3.
That meant that Arsenal’s two best players were put in positions that you would assume are not their natural roles. Aubameyang in particular is rarely afforded opportunities to lead the line with Wyscout tracking data saying he functioned as a central striker for the Gunners - either on his own or as a duo - for just 22 minutes since Arteta’s appointment.
He is Arsenal’s most effective goalscorer, the man you would want the ball to drop to in the box if you were a supporter but often he is stationed out wide on the right.
For much of his Arsenal’s career the explanation for Arteta, Unai Emery and Arsene Wenger stationing Aubameyang wide on the left has been clear cut. His output in terms of goals - which fundamentally is what justified his
Those numbers have closed in the more recent games of Arteta’s tenure, some of which may have been explained by a particular hot streak from his wide left berth around the festive period.
According to Wyscout in minutes that Aubameyang has played on the left wing for Arsenal his per 90 minute Premier League averages are 0.68 goals and 0.13 assists with 2.48 shots per game.
His expected goals per 90 are 0.46, as you would expect from a forward of his quality he is outperforming what a league average player would do given the chances that are presented to him, though such a sizeable gap between xG and output does also beg the question over whether there may at some stage be a regression to the mean for Aubameyang.
Numerically the gap between his output out wide and through the middle is negligible. As a centre forward Aubameyang averages 0.65 Premier League goals per 90 and 0.11 assists.
The quality of chances created for him (0.56xG) and his shot volume (2.56 shots) tick up slightly as you would expect from a player whose starting position is close to goal.
There are perhaps contributing factors to explain why Aubameyang does not score more frequently up front, most of all that he is often used as a central striker when the Gunners have opted for a more defensive approach
But the difference is negligible. That is no less apparent when you examine shot charts for his time at Arsenal, there are not vast differences between the player playing off the left and through the middle in terms of attacking output.
Certainly there are a few more efforts from the left corner of the box and slightly more from the closest range when Aubameyang plays through the middle. But there is a similar proportion of shots from outside the box in both positions, both show a player capable of getting into the sort of areas from which he can make a difference.
Indeed if there is a significant difference between Aubameyang in the two roles it comes at the other end of the pitch. Playing wide Arsenal’s top scorer involves himself in more defensive duels (4.1 per 90 as opposed to ) and recovers possession more frequently (2.48 times compared to 1.4).
Again that ought not to be a great surprise, few clubs in the world expect less defensive work of their wingers than their centre forwards. It is, however, worth noting that Aubameyang has been a remarkable success in defensive terms under Arteta.
That was apparent on the south coast as early as the fourth minute when Yan Valery charged down the right on the overlap. It briefly appeared he was going to be well-placed to cross or shoot but Aubameyang made up ground remarkably quickly to win possession back.
At half-time Aubameyang had attempted as many tackles (three) as anyone else on the pitch.
All that despite the fact that Arteta’s formation change to a 5-2-3 ought to have liberated him to focus on what he does best. Perhaps this effort to cover the hard yards on the defensive end speaks to how he is willing to run through brick walls for Arteta in a way he was not towards the end of Emery’s reign.
That selflessness has come to define Aubameyang, a man who on his 100th appearance for Arsenal, with a 50th Premier League goal just one strike away, would look to square the ball for Nketiah when through on goal as he did in the 54th minute.
Aubameyang had his chance early on, a thumb from Alex McCarthy perhaps being enough to deny him that landmark goal as his curling effort cannoned back off the crossbar. Yet this player who arrived from Borussia Dortmund with the German club warning of potentially ‘divaish’ behaviour has proven to be an exemplary leader by example.
Even as time wore on on this landmark day the club captin was happy to subsume personal landmarks for the Arsenal cause. If anyone needs a goal right now it is Alexandre Lacazette, who was given free-kick duties after Aubameyang had been brought down by Jack Stephens, who was red carded for a foul that denied that Arsenal striker a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Ultimately it would be Joe Willock that would benefit from Aubameyang's generosity as Lacazette was denied first by the wall and then McCarthy, who parried the ball into the young Arsenal forward's path.
It felt appropriate that the youngster should benefit on a day when Aubameyang gave his all to the cause. Since they moved up to the first team the Hale End graduates have found a sage mentor in the Gabon striker, who has been generous in his time and praise for them.
That is the Aubameyang that might just justify paying him another sizeable salary even into his mid-30s. What today showed Arteta, Raul Sanllehi and Edu is that even if his output fades in the years to come he will be an outstanding team-mate for the youngsters around him.
