It’s not been the start Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would have hoped for so far at Chelsea. He’s yet to open his account for the Blues since his switch from Barcelona on deadline day and was substituted in the 66th minute of Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League.
This meant the Gabon international has failed to last the full 90 minutes in either of his first two starts at the club, leading to some scrutiny of the forward, who is expected to play a big part for Chelsea this season, particularly given the lack of options they have at centre-forward.
Any criticism, though, seems unjust at this time. Aubameyang’s switch to Chelsea was his second transfer in this calendar year alone - something that’d unsettle the rhythm of most players. Yet that problem has been enhanced by personal issues, the most notable being masked burglars breaking into his family home last month.
That attack left the former Arsenal forward with a broken jaw and he's been forced to play with a protective mask while the bone heals. Game time has also been at a premium for the 33-year-old in recent months, meaning he’s not fully up to speed in terms of match fitness.
Despite all of this, Aubameyang’s still shown glimpses of what he offers aside from goals alone. On Wednesday night, for example, his link-up play was strong with nine of 14 passes finding their intended target. He also finished the match with a 100 per cent success rate in terms of dribbles and crosses attempted.
Even if his final application wasn’t quite there, his movement was good and he managed to work himself into decent shooting locations, forging three efforts on goal across the game.
This season, Chelsea have lacked a proper focal point, with Kai Havertz often given the job of leading the line. He’s an excellent attacker, but arguably at his best dropping deeper and receiving passes to his feet.
Aubameyang, in contrast, plays on the shoulders of defenders, as many out-and-out forwards do. Therefore, he stretches the backline and creates gaps in central areas for Chelsea to expose. His presence acted as a distraction in the penalty area, and he indirectly had a big say in Raheem Sterling's opening goal.
Although he failed to get full control of the cross that eventually fell to the England international, opposition defenders were focused on the threat he carried when the pass came in, allowing Sterling to go unmarked and eventually score.
Former boss Thomas Tuchel was a big factor behind Aubameyang’s decision to join the club, so it was no shock when the player recently admitted he was "frustrated and sad" when the German was sacked as Chelsea boss.
How many goals will Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang end the season on? Have your say in the comments!
However, he spoke positively of Tuchel's successor, Graham Potter, suggesting that it should be “easy” to work with the Englishman. "I think he's a person who's really positive, he's a great character so we will try to learn with him, to win as soon as possible," the striker said of Potter. "I think his idea is very clear, so I think it's going to be easy. Obviously, it takes time to adapt to each other."
Aubamayang’s return of 11 goals in 17 matches for Barcelona last season was a reminder of how lethal he still is, and once back up to speed, it wont be long before he starts replicating that form in the blue of Chelsea.
