Eyebrows were raised when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, then Arsenal’s captain, was left out of the side against Southampton in November.
He was subsequently stripped of the honour, and left out of every matchsay squad, being left to train alone.
Mikel Arteta and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pose with the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium on August 1, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
It capped an almighty fall from grace for the Gabon star, who almost singlehandedly won the Gunners the FA Cup in 2020. Eighteen months on, and he couldn’t even join his teammates for the warm weather break to Dubai.
As a result, it was somewhat unsurprising to see him depart on deadline day, having been offered around for much of the transfer window. Finally, Barcelona took the gamble on the 32 year old, and completed the free signing of the speedster from Arsenal.
💙❤️ @Auba takes his first steps onto the Camp Nou pitch pic.twitter.com/IrUs3brB1Z
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 3, 2022
Aubameyang hits out at Arteta
Now, in his first interview as a Barcelona player, Aubameyang was quizzed on the nature of his recent incidents and exit from Arsenal, and it is safe to say he pointed the finger squarely at Mikel Arteta.
‘My last few months at Arsenal were complicated, that’s football sometimes. For my part, I never wanted to do anything wrong. My problem was only with Arteta. I can’t say much more, I wasn’t happy’;, the former Gunner revealed.
Aubameyang: “My last few months at Arsenal were complicated, that’s football sometimes. For my part, I never wanted to do anything wrong. My problem was only with Arteta. I can’t say much more, I wasn’t happy.” pic.twitter.com/onZ1xXGgXL
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) February 3, 2022
Pressed further, he refused to go into details but reiterated that it was Arteta’s doing, saying:
‘It was just him and he made that decision. He wasn’t happy, I can’t tell you more. He wasn’t very happy, I was very calm.’
🗣 “It was just with him [Arteta] I can’t tell you much, he wasn’t happy and that was it.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doesn’t go into details about his Arsenal exit but says the problem was with him and manager Mikel Arteta pic.twitter.com/Uebxxkkx7O
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 3, 2022
Having already burned his bridges in north London, it appears Auba couldn’t resist one last match on the flame.
