Who Is More Key for Borussia Dortmund: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Marco Reus?

Marco Reus is probably the biggest name Borussia Dortmund have to offer. He's got the highest market value, according to Transfermarkt, he appears in more commercials than his team-mates and his is the name most often accompanied by transfer speculation linking Dortmund's best players to European giants.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, in contrast, is just coming into his own as a household name, as the Gabonese has developed into a striker on the cusp of greatness. Dan Adu-Gyamfi noted for World Soccer Talk: "He’s earned his place to be considered one of the best forwards in the world."

Aubameyang and Reus are Dortmund's most natural goalscorers. Since Robert Lewandowski left the club for Bayern Munich, they are pacing the Black and Yellows in terms of bagged goals, as the two have scored 70 in all competitions in the almost two-and-a-half seasons since the Pole's departure.

With that in mind, let's try to decide who of the two is more important for the club.

Off The Pitch

Reus' contract extension in February was at least partly responsible for the turnaround the club managed in the second half of the 2014/15 campaign. The Black and Yellows, remember, were in the midst of a season that was shaping up to be an unmitigated disaster, last in the league after a loss at home to FC Augsburg that, for the first time, seemed to crack the tight bond between the team and the fans. 

Michael Probst/Associated Press

As ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko astutely noted at the time, "Dortmund fans went from being down in the dumps to pure euphoria." The team would not lose for six Bundesliga games after Reus put pen to paper on his contract and would finish the season in seventh place, reaching the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.

Like their faithful, even the club officials projected hopes in Reus' signing at the time. CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said, via the club's website: "Marco can define an era in Dortmund as Uwe Seeler did in Hamburg or Steven Gerrard in Liverpool. The fact that Marco made this decision in the midst of a sporting crisis at BVB shows how much he identifies with the club and that makes us very proud."

Aubameyang signed his contract extension at the end of July—with not nearly as much fanfare. That shows the difference between a player who's set to become a club legend and a player who's "only" held in very high regard. 

Reus is one of the most popular footballers in Europe and—clearly—one of the most important faces of his club. 

On The Pitch

On the pitch, however, one would be hard-pressed to say Reus is more important for Dortmund than Aubameyang. Of the aforementioned 70 goals between the two, 47 belong to the Gabon international. His development as the main striker at the Signal Iduna Park has matched the 26-year-old's lightning speed on the field.

Adu-Gyamfi wrote: "Auba is no longer considered just a player known for having an incredible amount of speed as he’s proven to be a clinical finisher, good distributor of the ball and solid at holding up the ball despite his frame."

The French-born striker was his side's lifeline last season with 16 Bundesliga goals and has already found the net 14 times in 12 league matches in this campaign.

The way Dortmund's squad is constructed, one could very well argue Aubameyang is the club's most indispensable player. There's only one true back-up for the Gabonese available in Adrian Ramos. The Colombian has so far failed to make his mark at the Westfalenstadion, scoring just eight goals across all competitions in his 16 months at the club. 

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Reus, on the other hand, has proved to be replaceable—at least for the short term. The 26-year-old has missed six games this season: Dortmund won all of them, with an aggregate score of 23-9. Thanks in large part to the emergence of Gonzalo Castro on the wing, Reus' continuous injury problems have yet to really affect his side.

Aubameyang, by the way, has missed a grand total of three games through injury since joining Dortmund. He is not only more reliable than Reus, he's also—quite frankly—a better player than his good friend at this point.

Lars is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.