Emery drops Lacazette, Aubameyang ahead West Ham clash

Arsenal boss Unai Emery will not play with two strikers up top against West Ham, with a partnership of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made to wait a while longer.

The Spaniard has a huge amount of firepower to choose from up front, but has so far opted to leave Lacazette on the bench in defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea – even when the Frenchman has come on, Aubameyang has switched to the flank.

Many fans are keen to see the two forwards partnered together from the outset, but Emery fears it could unsettle the balance of the rest of the team.

Asked if he will play two up top on Saturday against West Ham, Emery replied: “At the moment, no. At the moment, I think we need to have the control with the possession, with the positioning on the pitch, with more players inside.

“And after this possession, to do the attacking moments and defending moments with this balance.

“But, it is one possibility to continue in our progress and in one moment to try also to play with two scorers. In the last match of the pre-season, against Lazio, I did it with Lacazette and Nketiah.

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“But also, this position also for the players, they know that in one moment we can do that. But at the moment, no.”

On whether he will change his formation, he added: “We are working on different situations tactically. In the first we are playing with four at the back, then we have two and one, and one and two. With two and one, it is like a 4-2-3-1 and one, two, is for a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-3-3.

“We have players who train in this system. The moment on the pitch is different. If we need to improve in this mobility, the quality is very important, but also how the player is moving on the pitch. I think with two systems, we can continue to progress and think about winning the next match.”