There was much social media furore made during the January transfer window from fans clamouring to see Thomas Tuchel fully "backed" by Chelsea's then hierarchy led by Roman Abramovich. The charge was to see a more long-term vision at a club that the opposite had defined.
Six months later, the regime has changed, but the wish has been fully fulfilled by Todd Boehly and the Clearlake consortium in a summer unlike any other.
Few other deals this window indicate the German being backed more than a reported £18million deal to sign a 33-year-old striker from Barcelona. That 33-year-old happens to be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a historically prolific goalscorer who forged a productive working relationship with Chelsea's coach at the Westfalenstadion.
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Little about Chelsea signing Aubameyang, who only left the Premier League seven months ago in less than flattering circumstances, screams long-term. It cannot be framed as anything other than the most "now" arrival of this window.
It is a short-term plaster over a longer-term issue, one that feels less confined to individual flaws and more reflective of a systemic limitation within the German's current system that has seen multiple attackers fail to produce.
This is a deal that can only be viewed in extremes when it's said and done. Aubameyang either rekindles his good working relationship with Tuchel and offers him the precision he has craved for a limited period, or he adds another failure on to a growing list of frustration. That is not even factoring in the cultural impact in the dressing room that saw him fall so harshly out with Mikel Arteta.
"Aubameyang's decline at the club came at a time when finally the Gunners became less dependent on the striker, and it seemed to take a toll on him." Bailey Keogh, Arsenal writer and presenter for football.london says.
"Arteta finally saw a breakthrough in his rebuild by opting for a young team full of hunger, and it seemed that Aubameyang struggled to jump on board.
"Signs of his downfall at the club were clear when he was left out of the squad for the north London derby during the 2020/2021 season for disciplinary reasons, but this was largely ignored due to the hefty reliance the club had on the striker.
"And when his goals began to dry up in his final 18 months at the club, Arteta and Arsenal fans alike had lost tolerance. From this, the message is that as long as Aubameyang was scoring, then all was okay. But, a lack of goals is when the problems began to over-spill, and this eventually led to the flooding of issues."
I have penned before why his behaviour is such a red flag and puts Tuchel's reputation on thin ice, particularly in reference to the respect and admiration he gained in the messy fallout of Romelu Lukaku's contentious interview last December. With young players within the group and the need for unity within a challenging transitional period at Stamford Bridge, the more off-pitch drama that Aubameyang could bring is only going to prevent the club from putting an uncertain period behind them.
The best (and more realistic) reference point to Aubameyang is another older striker who used to play for Arsenal as well: Olivier Giroud. Bought for £18million from the Gunners on the final day of the 2018 winter window, the Frenchman proved to be a decent option in his over three years with the club.
A backup who was sometimes under-appreciated but provided vital goals under four different coaches in the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League. He left with a good reputation amongst supporters and some good memories.
He was never the long-term solution, but his 39 goals in 115 appearances offered enough to suggest the move was worth making, most tellingly under Frank Lampard in the second half of the 2019/20 campaign to secure Champions League football.
Giroud and Aubameyang are different players and notably different characters. Whether Aubameyang has the humility to take stretches out of the team, sometimes be deemed a rotational figure or iron out some of his previous misdemeanours is a defining question.
The theory over previously strong coach/player relationships repeating for a different club can be a flawed one, especially at Chelsea. Fans can easily think back to the failings to conjure anything great out of Fernando Torres during Rafael Benitez's interim reign or Maurizio Sarri with Gonzalo Higuain's dismal loan spell.
Aubameyang was a younger player at Dortmund with Tuchel between 2015-2017. The Bundesliga notoriously offers more space, and Dortmund are historically a club regarded for its attacking intent.
Aubameyang does not need to prove his goalscoring talent in the Premier League. 68 goals in 128 appearances from January 2018-2022 tells its own story.
"Not only did Aubameyang connect with fans on the pitch by consistently scoring goals that resulted in him winning the golden boot in 2019, and becoming the first Arsenal player to achieve this since the formerly loved Robin van Persie, and the legendary Thierry Henry before him," Keogh says.
"But, he was a player that connected with fans off the pitch as well and the first club captain since Cesc Fabregas that supporters adored. Skippers such as William Gallas, Laurent Koscielny, and Granit Xhaka failed to create a bond with spectators at the Emirates Stadium."
The 11 he has scored in 18 appearances with Barcelona in La Liga still reflect a player who can offer a finish if you know how to provide a template to elevate his strengths. A criticism you could argue Tuchel has struggled to do with those he has been working with at Chelsea so far.
Tuchel needs Aubameyang to work. After the public failure of Lukaku, the shunning of Tammy Abraham, the struggles of Timo Werner and the drop in output in the final third since his arrival, this is a risk that must pay off.
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