Aubameyang gets all-clear to play from German court
PIERRE-EMERICK Aubameyang has submitted a medical certificate to a German court to ensure he is not fined £900 if he makes his Arsenal debut against Everton today. The 28-year-old, at £56million the most expensive signing in Arsenal’s history, was due to give evidence last Monday regarding the terrorist attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus last April, but skipped the court date claiming he was too ill to attend. He would have faced a £900 fine by the court if he played today, given it is only five days since he was due to appear. But the Gabon striker has submitted a medical certificate clearing him. Manager Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, says Arsenal’s potent strikeforce means they will continue to play on the front foot. Manchester United flop Henrikh Mkhitaryan arrived just before Aubameyang at the Emirates as Wenger tries to solve a shortage of goals. It was the failure to strengthen Arsenal’s defence, though, that again
left Wenger facing questions. He wanted to sign Jonny Evans from West Bromwich but a £12m offer was dismissed. Arsenal did recruit Konstantinos Mavropanos from Greek side PAS Giannina, but the 20-year-old is viewed as a player for the future. They have conceded 34 goals in the Premier League — more than any other side in the top six. Sam Allardyce believes Everton can exploit that vulnerability this evening but Wenger will remain committed to playing on the front foot. ‘Attacking is in our DNA. We are an attacking team,’ said Wenger. ‘The danger when you are an attacking team is that if you don’t score, then of course you create your own problems. ‘When people say we’ve conceded too many goals, I think we don’t score enough goals. That’s our basic problem. Defensive strengthening is a huge problem for everybody. Everybody looks for defenders. ‘You look again at Manchester City — they bought another defender. How much money have they spent on defenders in the last three years?’ This evening’s game will see Theo Walcott return to the Emirates for the first time since he left for Everton two weeks ago, his departure so hurried that he had to bundle his belongings into a black bin bag before heading to Merseyside. Allardyce knows this will be an emotional occasion for the 28-year-old, who spent 12 seasons at Arsenal, and quipped that he will let Walcott give the team talk. He scored both goals in Wednesday’s 2-1 win against Leicester, and his new boss can see his hunger. ‘A lot of things have been said about Theo — he hasn’t reached his full potential and all that — but I don’t know how you could say that after last season’s performance,’ said Allardyce. ‘He played 30-plus games, scored 19 goals. I think if he’d have been playing a lot this year, he would have been happy to finish his career at Arsenal.’