Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has revealed that he has been absent from Arsenal’s squad for over 8 days because his mother was ill and he needed to take care of her.
The 31-year-old Gabonese forward has not been having the best of his football career this season as he has struggled to score as many goals as he has done in previous seasons.
Since the commencement of the 2020-2021 season, the former Borussia Dortmund striker has managed to score just 5 goals and provided an assist in 17 Premier League games.
On January 23, the coach of Arsenal, Mikel Arteta confirmed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would not be available for Arsenal until he settled a “personal issue“. The coach revealed this after the Gabonese striker failed to be a part of the Arsenal’s squad that played Southampton in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, Southampton knocked them out of the competition with a 1-0 victory, missing out on the opportunity of defending the title they won last season.
While Arsenal’s fans continued to wonder about the personal issue Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was battling with, the club’s captain was also absent from Arsenal’s league match against Southampton on Tuesday.
This time around, Mikel Arteta and his boys made no mistake as they went ahead to slam Southampton with a 3-1 defeat away from home. At the end of the league match, Arteta dedicated the victory to Aubameyang and urged for more support for the striker who earns about £375-per-week at Arsenal.
In less than three days to one of Arsenal’s biggest Premier League games (Arsenal vs Manchester United), Aubameyang came to social media to share a statement explaining why he has been absent from the club.
In the statement, he thanked Arsenal and the club’s fans for their support. He revealed that he has been taking care of his sick mother. He also revealed that his mother has gotten better and he would return home on Thursday night, January 27.
“Thank you so much for all the messages and calls over the last few days. My mother is going through some health issues and I had to be there for her”, Aubameyang wrote.
“She’s already much better now and I will be back home tonight. I’m more than grateful for the doctors and nurses helping her get through this.
“And of course, thanks to my Arsenal fam for the support yesterday! I’m more determined than ever to keep our momentum going!
“Thank you all again – I really am beyond blessed to receive this level of support and love from all of you and I can’t wait to be back.”
— AUBA⚡️ (@Aubameyang7) January 27, 2021
This means that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang might be available for Arsenal when they welcome Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, January 30.
Arsenal are currently 9th on the league table with 30 points in 20 league games. They need a win over second-placed Manchester United to move to at least the 8th spot on the league table.
