Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been warned that he could have made his final appearance for Chelsea following a “hopeless” outing against Manchester City.
The Gabonese striker started on the bench for the Blues against the reigning Premier League champions only to be called upon early following an injury sustained by Raheem Sterling. Aubameyang, 33, struggled to have an impact and Chelsea fell to a 1-0 defeat following Riyad Mahrez’s strike.
He then suffered the ignominy of being hauled off despite there being 20 minutes of the clash remaining. Ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton is a severe critic of Aubameyang’s performances and claimed that he could very quickly fall out of contention under Graham Potter.
Speaking with the BBC, he said: “Aubameyang looked like he didn’t want to be here this evening. He’s not the only one.
“[Marc] Cucurella, they’ve spent an absolute fortune on him and he looks well, well short for a Chelsea team that want to win trophies. I wonder whether Graham Potter is thinking, 'how can I play Aubameyang again in a Chelsea jersey?', after how woeful he was.
“I’m always wary to criticise players for lack of effort or poor body language but Aubameyang absolutely epitomised that. I thought he was woeful and hopeless and didn’t give anywhere near enough. He looked disinterested and I suspect Graham Potter will be thinking, 'blimey, he is never going to play in a Chelsea jersey again under me'.”
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Aubameyang’s move to Chelsea has not worked out in the slightest after he returned to the Premier League from Spanish giants Barcelona. The former Arsenal frontman has scored just three goals in 16 appearances - only one of those coming in the Premier League.
His reaction to his substitution against City was telling, with Aubameyang visibly frustrated at being hauled off the pitch. Potter suggested that his response was only natural and praised the striker for his efforts on Thursday evening.
Speaking post-match, the Chelsea boss said: “He [Aubameyang] came on after one minute, hadn’t played for a while, and put in an absolute shift for us given Manchester City make you run a lot. I thought he did everything he could for the team.
“He was fatiguing a little bit, same as Hakim [Ziyech], so that was the decision. We needed a little bit of energy, so I thought we could use Omari [Hutchinson], Conor [Gallagher], and Lewis [Hall]. Of course, players want to stay on the pitch and influence the game. It’s a normal reaction.”
Aubameyang will certainly be hoping to have more of an impact as Chelsea renew rivalries with City in the third round of the FA Cup this weekend. Despite Sutton's claims, he looks a good bet to start the game at the Etihad Stadium with fellow forwards Sterling and Christian Pulisic injury doubts.
