Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexandre Lacazette can lift Arsenal but Gunners have a Mesut Ozil problem

THEY have arrived too late to save Arsene Wenger but Arsenal’s three amigos might just be the future for the new manager.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan started together for the first time in Sunday’s 5-0 rout of Burnley.

And the way the superstar trio instantly clicked suggests they could be a force to be reckoned with next season.

Now the headache for the next Gunners boss is finding a place for £350,000-a-week Mesut Ozil in his starting line-up.

Ozil’s injuries and illnesses are winding up some of his team-mates. If the new gaffer takes a dim view of his unreliability in terms of availability, he could be missing even more games next season than this — by being put on the bench.

When Aubameyang signed for a club record £60million from Borussia Dortmund in January, it was widely assumed that he had been bought to replace Lacazette up front.

The Frenchman had struggled to justify his £52m price tag during his first six months in England and was already in danger of being written off.

Yet rather than accept his fate as Aubameyang’s pricey back-up, Lacazette has responded with the kind of form which prompted Wenger to sign him in the first place.

DRIVE BYE Wenger stops for autographs and photos with fans before training

Eight goals in his last nine games since returning from six-weeks out with a knee injury is confirmation that Lacazette is far too good to sit on the bench.

And now he is relishing the opportunity to play alongside Aubameyang in a partnership which promises to be Arsenal’s most prolific since the days of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie.

Mkhitaryan, a straight swap for Alexis Sanchez, has also hit the ground running after being dumped by Manchester United.

It was head of recruitment Sven Mislintat rather than Wenger who drove the January deals for Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan. Arsenal’s new transfer chief knew both players from their time together at Dortmund and convinced them to move to the Emirates despite the absence of Champions League football.

Wenger gave his approval to both signings but the deals would have gone ahead without his say-so if necessary.