Unlucky he didn't start against Leeds, but I think that game really clarifies how much the right balance matters. Auba up top with 4-5 proper midfielders behind him can work as he doesn't need to hold it up, link play, or battle CBs. He could pull out wide onto the left like Henry the whole game, which is what he did. Much more of a striker. Put another forward on, you lose one of those link players, and it doesn't work as well unless that forward is a proper CF, which Pepe is not.
Our current selection options always demand a sacrifice of some kind, it seems. We need more players who can perform two roles to a high level, so the specialists can do their special things. Saka and Partey are both guys like that. Maybe ESR, too, though we haven't really seen it yet. Pepe was asked to play like that at first, but I think he's more like Auba in that he excels in a very particular way.
