Arsenal manager Unai Emery has said he will continue to rotate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, although Gunners fans are desperate for the pair to start more regularly together.
Lacazette has been the preferred choice as main striker for much of the season, meaning Aubameyang shifts out to the left-wing when they both start in the same together. Emery remains unconvinced of their ability to dovetail as a pair, despite their impressive returns in the Premier League.
Lacazette has scored five goals in twelve games so far and the Frenchman is a tempting bet for the Golden Boot at 22/1. The 27-year-old, who won the Ligue 1 top scorer award during the 2014/15 campaign, has had 24 shots on goal – 11 of which have been on target – and critics will rightly point to his relatively poor conversion rate.
Lacazette will get plenty of chances in this attack-minded Arsenal team though as the Gunners have scored 26 goals in the league so far and they are the third-highest scorers in the division ahead of this weekend’s round of games.
Both Lacazette and Aubameyang rank in the division’s top-20 players in terms of total shots on goal this season.
Aubameyang is 9/1 to win the Golden Boot and he could also offer each-way value, with most bookmakers offering each-way terms on three places for the top goalscorer market.
Aubameyang has scored seven goals in twelve games in the league, scoring a goal every 122 minutes on average – only Anthony Martial (104), Sergio Aguero (111) and Eden Hazard (112) have a better minutes-per-goal ratio.
Aubameyang has scored seven from his 17 shots on goal in the league, with 10 of those on target, and he won the Bundesliga top scorer award for Borussia Dortmund in 2016/17.
It is a big ask for either Arsenal forward to the win the Golden Boot award outright, but they should be right in the mix come the end of the season.