The manager of Arsenal football club, Mikel Arteta has insisted that he is not a problem at the Premier League club contrary to Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s assertion.
Recall that Aubameyang got himself into a mess at Arsenal when he breached the club’s protocol which include staying out of the club beyond the number of days he was permitted to.
The breach forced coach Mikel Arteta to sideline him and the club went as far as ending Aubameyang’s reign as the captain of the club.
All these happened at a point the Gabonese striker was regaining form after a poor run of form at the start of the 2021-2022 season.
Since it was obvious that he could not redeem himself at the Emirates Stadium, he had to leave the club despite still having 18 months left on his contract worth £350,000-per-month.
Happy to see you can play football again @Auba wishing you nothing but the best…thank you for the goals @Arsenal 🤞🏾 pic.twitter.com/qOhS5m5jJ9
— Manzini Zungu (@ManziniZungu_) February 6, 2022
He joined FC Barcelona on a free transfer during the January transfer window which made him the second superstar at Arsenal after Mesut Ozil that was frustrated out of the club under coach Mikel Arteta.
During his unveiling at FC Barcelona, Aubameyang told reporters that it was not his fault that he had to leave Arsenal. He stressed that Arteta was the problem not him.
“I think it was a problem just with him [Arteta]”, the Gabonese striker said. “I can’t really tell you much. He wasn’t happy and that was it. I can’t say anything else because that’s what happened. I wasn’t very happy and I’m better this way.”
Ahead of the Arsenal Premier League game against Wolves scheduled to kick off at 20:45 on Thursday, February 10, Mikel Arteta acknowledged the contribution of Aubameyang to Arsenal. In contradiction to the striker’s assertion that Arteta was the problem, the Spanish tactician described himself as the solution.
“I am grateful for what Auba has done at the club his contribution since I have been here”, Arteta said. The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution, not the problem…
“I think it ended up the best possible way for everybody. When things change, when the context changes, you have to make decisions. We all decided that the best thing was to move on and now he plays for Barca.
“We had different meetings and the decision was taken collectively between the player, the club, and agent.”
🎙️ "The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution not the problem."
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 9, 2022
Mikel Arteta reacts to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's comments saying the manager was the 'problem' and says Arsenal have enough in the team to get goals without a direct replacement for the forward. pic.twitter.com/48Ukvhh6oM
In Aubameyang’s absence, Arsenal have continued to push to return to the top four of the league. The club is currently sitting on the 6th spot on the league table with 36 points in 21 games, four points away from 4th placed West Ham United.
Currently, the biggest problem for the coach has been to sign a prolific striker for the club. He and Arsenal tried to do that last January transfer window but couldn’t.
Hence, the club is left with two substantive strikers Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette whose contracts will expire on June 30, 2022.
While commenting on Arsenal’s effort in the January transfer window, coach Arteta said: “We did what we believe is the right thing to do with players who had to leave, contract situations were [also] catching up in those situations and we had to be fair.
“We had a clear plan of what we could do, and then it has to be doable. But we are very clear, we only want the best players and the best people at this club. We decided not to rush.”
🗣 "I trust the players that I have."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 9, 2022
Mikel Arteta is confident in Lacazette and Nketiah to provide the goals without a replacement for Aubameyang pic.twitter.com/hNMUg21h5J
