Pierre-Emerick is stripped of Aubameyang armory The captaincy and will not be picked for Wednesday’s match against West Ham, putting the striker’s future at the club in doubt.
Mikel Arteta Aubameyang dropped from team who beat Southampton on Saturday on a late return from a trip abroad and the manager later refused to question the player’s status as club captain. but he was Far from the first such offense in 32 years And the manager’s patience has run out.
“We’ve made this decision based on a few moments where they haven’t fulfilled their duties, and that’s it,” Arteta, visibly disappointed, said. “The expectation and commitment that we need from every player is on a different level. So we were forced to take this decision.”
Although relegating a senior player, who occupies a significant portion of the salary bill, would appear untenable in the long term, Arteta would not be prepared or whether there is any way out on any timeline for Aubameyang’s return.
“What I can say right now is you can understand that it’s very difficult to digest and it’s a really difficult decision, so we need some time,” he said. “The decision we made is really sad, and it’s still like that and it needs some time to recover. That’s why at the moment he is not in the team.”
Arteta said it was a “painful” call and Aubameyang accepted the news when it was delivered “eye-to-eye the way I like to do it”.
Arteta’s decision was made jointly with the club’s hierarchy and came after discussions with Aubameyang over the past three days. Punctuality issues have plagued Aubameyang in the past, the most high-profile being he was left on the bench for the derby against Spurs in March after he reported late. Similar violations are also understood to have taken place. Additionally, he was reminded of his responsibilities by the club in February. Apparently Violating Covid-19 Rules To Get Tattooed,
Arsenal have been sympathetic to other off-pitch issues this year, such as a serious illness to his mother and a bout of malaria that hospitalized him, but were forced to act after, citing an unbearable accumulation of violations. see as.
Unusually, a statement from the club made clear their dissatisfaction with the player. “Following his latest disciplinary breach last week, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no longer be our club’s captain, and will not be considered for selection for Wednesday’s match against West Ham United,” it said.
“We expect all our players, especially our captains, to act on the rules and standards that we have set and agreed upon. Our entire focus is on tomorrow’s match.”
quick guide
How do I sign up for sports breaking news alerts?
Display
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on an iPhone or Google Play Store on an Android phone by searching for ‘The Guardian’.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the latest version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button in the bottom right, then go to Settings (gear icon), then go to Notifications.
- Turn on game notifications.
Alexandre Lacazette captained Arsenal against Southampton, but his long-term future is unclear and Arteta lacks senior players capable of making a move. Granite Xaka’s unfortunate captaincy is unlikely to be repeated for a long time, so players like Kieran Tierney and Martin Odegaard, who only turn 23 on Friday but are Norway’s captain, could count. “This is a really unpleasant situation and this is not the time to make any hasty decisions,” Arteta said, adding that the process can take time.
Aubameyang signed a new three-year deal in September 2020 and is the club’s highest-paid player. But he has only scored four Premier League goals this season and, given that he has to represent Gabon in next month’s Africa Cup of Nations, Arsenal are already set for a short life without him. His chances of seeing that deal come into question will now come into question because Arteta has taken such strong action.