As #AFC are linked to Depay I've made a thread on the player and why Arteta may believe he can replace Aubameyang:

Likes and RT's appreciated.

This season Depay has been out injured and so has only had 13 appearances for Lyon.

However, in those 13 games he was in inspired form, scoring 9 goals and registering 2 assists. He has outperformed his xG by 4.5 goals, showing his class in front of goal.

Under Arteta we have seen Nicolas Pepe become a much more potent player for Arsenal, registering 3 goals and 3 assists since the start of 2020.

Widely seen as Pepe's best attribute is his ability to cut in from the right and this is clearly what Arteta wants from his wingers.

This is one of the reasons Depay could fit in so well with Arteta's system. Depay, much similar to Aubameyang when he plays on the left, loves to cut inside and work for a shooting opportunity.

This was best shown by his 95th minute winner against PSG in the league

Depay is undoubtedly a very very good inside forward and would perform the role required by Arteta perfectly.

However, one thing that may not make sense is the difference in quality between the two players, with this being seen as a BIG downgrade.

Aubameyang's goalscoring record at Arsenal is incredible, with the player on track to be the 6th fastest player to register 50 goals in premier league history and Depay won't score at this rate.

But, since Arteta took over we have seen a dip in his goalscoring tally.

When we look at Aubameyang now as a player we must acknowledge his new role under Arteta.

In his current system, Arteta uses Aubameyang as an inside forward coming in from the left in his 4231.

Under Arteta we have seen Aubameyang score 6 league goals in 13 games, scoring in 46% of games on average.

Whereas prior to Arteta's appointment we saw him score 33 goals in in 54 games, scoring in 61% of games on average.

This drop in goals is due to his positional switch from a poacher to an inside forward on the left.

If you were using Depay as a striker this would be a serious downgrade but as an inside forward their performances are relatively similar.

Since Aubameyang is now playing on the left, the club is no longer reliant on him for goals.

Arteta has done this by changing Arsenal into a system based side and because of this Aubameyang can be replaced without it ruining the clubs performances.

I would say that replacing Aubameyang with Depay may be beneficial for Arsenal as a club. Like with Aubameyang Depay's contract expires next year so he could be relatively cheap.

In performing the switch Arsenal can profit and invest in their defence to strengthen effectively

If you read it all I beg you RT