There seems to be a crisis between Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the coach of Arsenal, Mikel Arteta as he sidelined the player ahead of the club’s league game against Southampton on Saturday, December 11.
The crisis between Aubameyang who happens to be the captain of Arsenal has gotten so bad that the 32-year-old Gabonese striker did not train with Mikel Arteta’s team ahead of the Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium.
During the pre-match press conference, reporters asked Mikel Arteta why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was not allowed to train with the team and was not included in the squad that faced Southampton on Saturday.
In his response, coach Mikel Arteta told the reporters that the Gabonese footballer had to be sidelined because he breached a disciplinary protocol at the club.
“I think we have been very consistent that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club, and he’s not involved today”, the coach said.
“It’s not an easy situation and not a situation we want to have our club captain in.”
🗣 “Unfortunately due to a disciplinary breach.”
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 11, 2021
Mikel Arteta explains why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not in the Arsenal squad today pic.twitter.com/Je1cIvm5oA
In the absence of Aubameyang, Arsenal went on to beat Southampton 3-0 with 62 percent of the ball possession and 15 shots.
After the game, reporters tried to make coach Mikel Arteta reveal the disciplinary breach Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang committed that forced him out of the squad despite being the club’s captain. The Spanish coach failed to reveal why the club’s captain was sidelined.
He said: “You’re not going to get anything else from me. Unfortunately, it happened.
“I explained what happened and the reason he wasn’t involved and that’s where I’m going to stay on it.”
🗣 “You’re not going to get anything else from me.”
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 12, 2021
Mikel Arteta addresses Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s omission against Southampton and hints he will be in contention to face #WHUFC pic.twitter.com/dkEX5ChMAb
However, it was gathered that coach Arteta sidelined the Gabon international because the club permitted him to travel abroad but returned later than permitted. Hence, his late return affected the club’s arrangement for the subsequent games and breached the club’s coronavirus protocol.
On the other hand, there are reports that the coach is not happy with the striker because he has not been scoring as consistently as expected.
For instance, since the commencement of this season, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has managed to score 7 goals and provided 2 assists in 15 games in all competitions. He has scored just 4 goals in 14 Premier League games so far this season.
The last time Aubameyang played for Arsenal was on December 6 when coach Mikel Arteta introduced him into the league game against Everton in the 85th minute. The match ended 2-1 in favor of Everton.
Unfortunately for the Gabonese striker, he could not score, making it the 6th successive league game the Gunners captain failed to score a goal.
On the other hand, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is reportedly not happy that coach Arteta is not playing him regularly.
Hence, if things continue like this until next summer Arsenal might decide to sell Aubameyang who still has until June 30, 2023, before his contract with the club expires.
