How does Aubameyang compare to new Arsenal team-mate Lacazette?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to Arsenal could see the striker paired with Alexandre Lacazette in a new-look Gunners attack following Alexis Sanchez’s departure.

Aubameyang cost Arsenal £56million to sign from Borussia Dortmund, taking the club-record tag off new team-mate Lacazette.

The former Lyon man was priced at £46.5m, so Arsene Wenger now has more than £100m of attacking talent at his disposal despite Sanchez heading to Old Trafford, not to mention boasting Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the supply line.

We have analysed the merits of Aubameyang and Lacazette with the use of Opta numbers. Will they be well-suited to playing together?

GOALS

Believe it or not, Lacazette and Aubameyang have scored exactly the same number of league goals – 85 – since the start of the 2014-15 season.

However, Aubameyang has a slightly better goals-to-games ratio, with his haul coming from 112 appearances compared to the 122 matches played by Lacazette.

The France forward has proven more clinical in front of goal, though, converting 25.8 per cent of his shots while Aubameyang has netted 21.6 per cent of his efforts.

Aubameyang goes for goal a lot more than Lacazette too, the Gabon striker attempting 394 efforts in the last three and a half seasons, compared to 330 for the Frenchman.

@Aubameyang7 #YoPierre pic.twitter.com/UpbAhnIvDG

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 31, 2018

ALL-ROUND CONTRIBUTIONS

Of course, a modern striker has to have a lot more to their game than simply scoring goals – so how do Lacazette and Aubameyang compare in this regard?

The duo are very similar when it comes to assists, with Aubameyang recording 16 – just one more than his new colleague – taking his total goal involvements to 101 compared to Lacazette’s 100.

Aubameyang has played fewer matches and therefore contributes to a goal on average every 93 minutes, compared to 100 for Lacazette.

The Frenchman does more to bring his team-mates into the play, however, creating 174 chances while Aubameyang’s figure is notably down from that mark, on 115.

Talking with my New team mate Welcome in the club @HenrikhMkh !!
Discussion avec mon nouveau coéquipier
Bienvenue au club 
#Arsenal #Coyg pic.twitter.com/9oVGf8JktJ

— Alexandre Lacazette (@LacazetteAlex) January 29, 2018

TYPES OF GOALS

Ultimately, it matters little how the ball ends up in the net, but what does an assessment of the Opta numbers tell us about the respective styles of both men?

The data appears to indicate Aubameyang is a more rounded striker, having scored 11 headers and 17 times with his left foot, although all 85 of his Bundesliga goals for Dortmund came from inside the box.

Lacazette, meanwhile, has scored 69 of his 85 league strikes over the same period with his right foot, but seven goals from outside the box is a sign he could be dangerous from deeper areas too.

Sanchez often took penalties during his time at Arsenal, but Lacazette and Aubameyang could battle for that responsibility at the Emirates. Lacazette has scored 21 times from 12 yards in the last three and a half years, compared to 10 converted spot-kicks for Aubameyang.

Neither player has scored a direct free-kick, which was another area from which Sanchez provided a threat, so perhaps Arsenal’s attack could still use a set-piece specialist.