Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34) and Alexandre Lacazette (32) will reunite when Olympique de Marseille face Olympique Lyonnais at the Vélodrome on Wednesday night, but now on opposite sides of a fierce rivalry, there is no chance for them to rekindle their Arsenal “bromance”.
Aubameyang and Lacazette sparked a special connection on and off the pitch at Arsenal. The pair played together on 106 occasions for the Gunners with Lacazette describing playing with Aubameyang as “a pleasure”. The Gabonese striker scored an impressive 92 goals in 163 games for Arsenal, whilst Lacazette scored 71 in 206 games for the Premier League side.
Aubameyang and Lacazette struggling for form
However, Arsenal’s former dynamic duo are struggling in Ligue 1 this season. Aubameyang, following his summer move from Chelsea, has scored just two goals in Ligue 1, however, with four goals in his last two games in all competitions, there are signs that he is beginning to turn a corner. His hat-trick against Ajax last week secured Marseille’s qualification to the Europa League knockout stages. “I hope it will get my adventure at Marseille up and running,” reacted Aubameyang after that hat-trick.
His former Arsenal teammate is also struggling to produce his best form this season. Only Kylian Mbappé (29) scored more goals than Lacazette (27) in Ligue 1 last season, however, he has not hit the same heights this season. There has been a collective demise at Lyon, with the club currently rock-bottom of Ligue 1 and on their third manager of the season just 13 games in, however, on an individual level, Lacazette’s level has also dropped.
Lacazette has just three goals in 10 games this season and he hasn’t scored since 8th October. Despite being club captain, the former France international was even dropped by now-former manager Fabio Grosso prior to his sacking.
Friend turned foe
It will be a strange night for Lacazette and Aubameyang, two close friends who are now on opposite sides of a bitter, and violent rivalry. The initial match, scheduled to take place on 29th October, was ultimately abandoned after Marseille fans attacked Lyon’s team bus, injuring Grosso. Lyon have taken precautions to avoid a repeat of such incidents in the rescheduled match on Wednesday.
The focus now turns to what happens on the pitch and both Aubameynag and Lacazette will be looking to make the difference for their respective sides.
