This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Barcelona have reportedly taken an interest in Arsenal’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, as per reports coming from 10sport.com (via Sport), and while discussing this transfer for ESPN, via their YouTube channel, Craig Burley stated it wouldn’t really be an ideal move for the Gabon man.
What did he say?
Sport claim that Aubameyang is currently holding off on signing a new contract at the Emirates precisely because he is waiting for Barcelona to make their move in the near future.
He seems to prefer to a move away from Unai Emery and Co, by swapping the Emirates for the Camp Nou in Catalonia.
Watch Spanish Football Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
The Blaugrana, on the other hand, need someone to replace the ageing Luis Suarez and have taken an interest in Aubameyang.
But Burley doesn’t really see this transfer happening and besides, Arsenal’s man would only be a “bit-part” player if he were to move to La Liga now, with the squad Barcelona already have.
Here’s what he said in full:
“I don’t see this happening because in his head he knows if this was to happen, he’s going there to sit on the bench. I’m not sure they would go for a player like that anyway, although he’s a good goalscorer, but I think for him it wouldn’t be a great move because he would be a bit-part player at Barcelona currently, with their squad.”
No place for him in the team
There’s no denying that Aubameyang clearly has some quality in his locker.
After all, we’re talking here about a man who’s already scored eight goals in just 12 games played in the Premier League this season and has been a shining light for a team that’s been struggling for the most part.
[ad_pod ]
The Gunners are sitting in sixth place on the table and with their five-game winless streak still going strong, Emery seems like a man out of sorts at the very moment.
But it’s difficult to see Aubameyang excelling at Barcelona, especially since they have a front three of Messi, Suarez and Griezmann already there.
For all his quality and skill, the current Gunner would have real difficulties displacing any member of the star trio from the starting XI.
Not to mention that with only 70.9% passing accuracy to his name in the Premier League this season, he is not really the best-suited player for Barcelona’s possession-based football in the first place.
Aubameyang thrives when he’s given acres of space to burst into and when he’s able to utilise his pace to the best of his abilities. For the most part, apart from banging in the goals, he is not someone who’s involved in the build-up play as much as Barcelona would probably like.
We can see this from his player profile provided by Understat that show his build-up and assist metrics as one of his weakest links.
For those reasons, this transfer doesn’t really make sense for either of the parties involved.
