Arsenal has stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the club captaincy following a disciplinary breach last week.
Aubameyang was left out of the squad for Saturday’s match against Southampton, and Arsenal confirmed their decision to remove the forward as captain on Tuesday.
The club also said Aubameyang will not be available for selection against West Ham on Wednesday.
“We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed,” the club said in a statement.
“We are fully focused on tomorrow’s match.”Mikel Arteta is due to give a press conference this afternoon, while the Arsenal manager previously said: “I think we have been very consistent that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club.”
Arteta was tight-lipped on the reasons for Aubameyang’s absence, refusing to comment when asked if the striker had returned late from a trip abroad.”You’re not going to get anything else from me. Unfortunately, it happened,” Arteta said after the 3-0 win over Southampton.
“I explained what happened and the reason he wasn’t involved and that’s where I’m going to stay on it.”This is not going to be a problem for Aubameyang because he’s got an unbelievable contract at the club.
However, it’s a major problem for Arsenal. Who’s going to take him on those wages? Absolutely nobody in the whole wide world. And there’s his age too. If he was 27, they’d be queuing up around the corner for him, but not now at the age of 32.
This is not the first time this has happened with Aubameyang. He turned up late for a meeting before and got left out of the side to face Tottenham. He’s the example. There are a lot of young players in that team who will look up to him.
I didn’t really get it in the first place if I’m being honest. But it does show you that he sets an example, and the youngsters look up to him. That’s why he was made captain.
If you are the manager, of course, you’d be disappointed. He’s been made captain of Arsenal Football Club. It’s a big thing and not just a run-of-the-mill thing. And with all the promising young kids at the club, he needs to set the example.
Emery named Aubameyang as Arsenal’s new captain after taking the armband off Granit Xhaka and Arteta decided to stick with the striker after taking over as manager a few weeks later.
The decision seemed to pay off initially, with Aubameyang leading Arsenal to FA Cup glory in August 2020 and scoring his 28th and 29th goals of the season in the final, but his form dipped after he signed a new long-term contract a few weeks after that.
The 32-year-old scored only 15 goals last season, his lowest total since the 2010/11 campaign, and if his form was not enough of a worry, disciplinary issues began to arise too. Aubameyang kept hold of the armband after his indiscretion against Tottenham last season, but this has proved a breach too far.