Like a Jack Sparrow suddenly waking up afloat in the sea but now starting to sink before spying some drift wood and clinging onto it for dear life, is how best describes Arsenal some 12 months ago with the whole 'sign da ting' saga of Aubameyang's diamonds and gold encrusted contract offer.
It hasn't escaped me that the fragile and somewhat desperate mentality of the club and gunners world wide in that particular moment in time was result of losing Alexis Sanchez times Robin van Persie times Emmanuel Adebeyor (spit) times Samir Nasri (spit twice plus 1 Our Father and 2 Hail Mary's) divided by Mesut Ozil as an equation.
That we are all duly appreciative of his goal contributions and galvanising effect on the team culminating in another hereditary F.A Cup win remains undiminished or at least it should do by my reckoning, but simply pulling our covid masks up over our eyes should not visually impair us to his failings either.
Petulant fleeing from the stadium accompanied by the roar of his Ferrari after being dropped for the NLD due to his turning up late even if only by 10 seconds, merely lends to the assessment that he is way less fit to be our captain than Granit Xhaka never mind all the other tangible reasons telling us so.
Until the like of Keiran Tierney has the armband on the hook above that which his shirt is on, the equivalent of a giant blue and white chicken suspending itself some 20 feet above the statue and symbolism of Mr. Arsenal, before depositing all the guano it has been constipated with since 1961 right on top of him, will continue to be the reality
No disputing that Aubameyang comes across as quite a personable fellow with a zest for enjoying his life as suits him best and yes, yes, yes he absolutely has every right to and should. My only issue of concern is even if only for 0.0001 of a percent it could reasonably be perceived that playing for Arsenal is ever secondary to his lifestyle.
The organic nature of most things dictates that they run their course before ultimately coming to an end. In that I like that others are opening up to thoughts of Auba and Laca as arsenal players being no more same as befell Henry, Smith and Wright etc, equally grows the optimism spawned by thoughts of Martinelli, Édouard, Balogun as our spearhead strikers or at least pointing us in the right direction having become lost playing Jumanji for nearly twenty years.