"Hopefully he has had that Arsenal tattoo scrubbed out" - Pundit makes 'little twist' Aubameyang claim with Chelsea set to face the Gunners this weekend
Former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy has shared his thoughts on striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang facing Arsenal in their Premier League clash on Sunday (November 6).
The Gabonese striker spent over three years with the Gunners after joining them from Borussia Dortmund in 2018. He registered 92 goals and 21 assists in 163 matches for the club.
However, his contract was mutually terminated in January earlier this year after a falling out with manager Mikel Arteta. Aubameyang spent six months at Barcelona and has now joined Chelsea.
Cundy believes that the Gabon international could score and haunt Arteta in their clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. He said (via HITC):
"Hopefully he has had that Arsenal tattoo scrubbed out. I don’t think he’s been a dud, he’s scored a lot of important goals for us so far. I feel against Arsenal you have to go with Aubameyang and you have to go with Sterling."
The former Chelsea man added:
"There is always that fear of if Aubameyang will come back to haunt Arteta after the break-up. There’s that lovely little twist that only football can give you. We all remember Adebayor running the length of the pitch at Man City. Will he be making that same run Aubameyang? I don’t know.”
Adebayor left the Gunners and joined Manchester City in 2009. In their clash at the Etihad, the former Togo international scored and ran the entire length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the away supporters.
Adebayor claimed that it was a reaction to the abuse he had to face from Gunners fans.
Jason Cundy shares the formation Chelsea should use against Arsenal
Cundy also gave his thoughts on the formation the Blues should use to stop the Premier League leaders on Sunday. He highlighted the importance of Granit Xhaka to Arteta's side and claimed that Chelsea need to play 3-5-2 to stop him.
He said (via HITC):
“I would go 3-5-2 at the weekend with Sterling and Aubameyang, just so that they give Arsenal something to think about at the weekend. We haven’t spoken about Xhaka yet with the runs he makes from deep, who saw that in his game? Then you have Odegaard too, but he doesn’t go as far as Xhaka."
He added:
"Which goal was it at the weekend where he went beyond, that’s the goal, that’s why I would consider going with 5 in the middle of the park so there is a lot of traffic for him to get through."
Xhaka has registered three goals and three assists in 12 Premier League matches this season as Arsenal sit at the top of the table.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are sixth in the table, 10 points behind the Gunners.