Frank Lampard drops Chelsea team news hint for Arsenal that could solve biggest problem

Frank Lampard has been speaking about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his lack of game time in his debut season with Chelsea as the striker prepares to take on former club Arsenal

Frank Lampard has lauded Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's quality and has also hinted the striker could be handed a rare start for Chelsea against Arsenal this evening.

The Blues take on the title-chasing Gunners at the Emirates Stadium today with Aubameyang potentially playing at the ground he spent four years at between 2018 and 2022. The 33-year-old striker has only appeared 14 times for Chelsea in the Premier League this season, scoring just the one goal despite the side lacking what would be considered a natural centre-forward.

The former Arsenal captain came on at Stamford Bridge with the hosts trailing 1-0 at half-time and did make an impact. Unfortunately it was not the desired one with Chelsea ending up losing 2-0 but there were some positive signs from Aubameyang.

With the Chelsea No.9 coming up against his former club this evening, there might be added motivation on his behalf. Lampard, when asked about Aubameyang, was full of praise for his quality and also spoke about the difference of playing him or the likes of Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix in the same role.

"He couldn't play in the two Champions League games. He came on against Wolves in the second and against Brentford," Lampard told reporters. "And I think more than any other position on the pitch, to be sharp and firing and consistent in your work is what makes the top strikers.

"Taking them out of the team for a while and coming back with a lack of edge is very, very difficult. The top strikers tend to play regularly, stay fit and score goals. It goes hand in hand. When I came in it was clear Auba hadn't played in terms of minutes this season and maybe even going back to last season.

"But it was also clear about the level of the player, so for me I have had no time to look at players over big areas in training because you have a game coming in two or three days to see where he is at.

"It was good to see him come on against Brentford and see the way he looked. I still won't put too much on him because he might still need that bit of time. Maybe we haven't got time for him this season so much. But he is a high, high level striker and I understand the question to see him involved until the end of the season.

"The fans have seen it like that all season. And the selection of the team has changed a lot all season with attacking players whether Auba is playing or not at times. So it's not as clear as that. So it's not where we as coaches will say that's the obvious viewpoint from the outside and I get it. But when you work every day and you talk to the players and see how they are physically and where they are at in training.

"But in Auba over a short period it has been hard for me to gauge that but when he came on against Brentford you saw the different feeling in the team. One thing for sure he is a very high level player but clearly in a situation where he is not at his freshest or sharpest.

"I will want a No.9 that I can play off and that we can rely on. It's not ideal for me to ask Raheem or Joao Felix to play in that No.9 role. We had to in the games against Real Madrid. There are a lot of things to put together and the solution is not always easy. I have to see if they are ready to play or not."

Lampard was criticised by many for his line-up in the defeat to Brentford last week with the likes of Conor Gallagher and N'Golo Kante being so advanced and a lack of attackers on the pitch. However, the interim boss has insisted he is not torn between trying to play entertaining football and be competitive.

"I'm not torn but coming in here, the systems have changed a lot, I had been playing 4-3-3 [last time] but I don't think there's one answer," Lampard said. "Sometimes, even against Madrid, I was criticised for being too defensive.

"For me, it was the only way to approach the Madrid game and we could have been 1-0 or 2-0 up and the whole tie then looks different. Brentford was different but I mentioned managers have to compromise earlier.

"At the moment, where we are, there are things that I look at and think, we can't be that fluid like we've tried when we went to Wolves with 4-3-3 and we don’t win a game so it is not always an absolute answer after the event that’s an easy one.

"Do I want to play more free-flowing? Yes. When I was here before I think people thought we were too free-flowing at times. When I looked at my underlying nature of how we were playing in my first season here, we had one of the highest xG and against us was one of the lowest xG but we still conceded more than we should have done because there are different reasons sometimes.

"In the short term, I want to find some consistency in our work. That's challenging sometimes because you have to put pieces of the puzzle together and, in just five games, that not always easy."

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