Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s awful attacking stats so far this season – Arsenal ace is struggling as team-mates and top Premier League rivals outperform him

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was handed a new contract last month but are Arsenal beginning to regret it?

After much deliberation, the striker put pen-to-paper on a new deal to the delight of Gooners fans last month.

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His brilliant end to last term helped Arsenal win the FA Cup and the club's no.1 priority was to get the striker to commit his future to the club with his deal set to expire in the summer of 2021.

It looked like he picked up from where he left off with a delightful curling effort in their Premier League season opener at Fulham.

The news he'd signed a new contract was announced three days later but things really haven't gone well for the Gabon international since.

Aubameyang may have found the net in Arsenal's Europa League outing at Rapid Vienna last week but the Gunners' defeat at home to Leicester marked a FIFTH successive league match for their captain without a goal, and four without an assist.

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talkSPORT host and Arsenal fan Darren Bent has become very concerned about Aubameyang's performance level ever since the contract news broke.

"There has been a drop-off,” said Bent on Sunday night’s Boot Room.

"You look at his form in the semi-final and the final of the FA Cup last season, the Community Shield and his performance against Fulham – he was arguably one of the best strikers in the Premier League, probably THE best.

"But since he signed that new contract, it might be a coincidence, but he’s looked a shadow of himself.

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"He’s missed big opportunities in games, he’s not working with the same intensity, he doesn’t look like he’s enjoying it as much.

"Listen, confidence is massive in a striker. It is with any player, but particularly with a centre-forward, when you’re used to scoring as many goals as he is and then you suddenly stop scoring, it can be a little bit of a concern.

"But I think it’s even the work rate as well.

"You remember, he was putting shifts up and down, he was all over the place, but he’s been nowhere near that level recently."

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But are Bent's fears justified? marvelbet369.com looked at 's numbers to see whether Aubameyang has been that bad this season and compared his stats with some of the Premier League's other top forwards.

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So generally Aubameyang's stats are pretty poor by his standards and when you compare them to some of the leagues best forwards.

The one goal and one assist in six Premier League matches has put Aubameyang's goals and assists per 90 mins at a low level, as well as the expected goals and expected goals assisted.

He doesn't appear to have the same selfish streak as other top strikers, taking an average of 1.33 shots per game but the shots he takes tend to go on target more often.

Surprisingly, Aubameyang's dribbles that lead to a shot attempt are low while none of his dribbles have led to a goal.

The expected goals and shot stats are interesting ones as they are especially low compared to his teammates too.

All of Arsenal's forwards have taken a comfortably higher shot average and have a higher expected goals ratio. But why is this the case?

Aubameyang tends to play on the left of a front three, a position that brought him a lot of joy last season and that's the area where Arsenal construct their attacks more often, according to .

In fact, Arsenal's six league matches have seen them go down the left side more than through the middle or down the right apart from the win over Fulham, where they went down the right the most.

Ironically, the 3-0 triumph at Craven Cottage has probably been Aubameyang's best performance this season.

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It should be remembered Aubameyang was bought as a centre-forward and Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah's stats suggest that you get more opportunities to score there than playing out on the left of Arsenal's system.

Playing Aubameyang on the left is clearly a factor but Bent's earlier point about the player dropping his intensity - be it consciously or unconsciously - has to be the biggest reason.

Arsenal shouldn't panic yet, they have a top striker who at 31 still has plenty to give.

He's in a bad run of form but as the old saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent. Aubameyang's class should shine through as the season progresses.

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