Aubameyang stripped of Arsenal captaincy
Things are getting darker and crabby for Gabonese international and Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Arsenal FC has officially stripped him of the captaincy.
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 manager of the side, Mikel Arteta expressed worry over the situation and confirmed there is an iota of pain and grief in the decision taken by management. “The decision to strip Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the club captaincy is ‘painful’ due to his strong relationship with the player”.
As to whether or not that’s the end to Aubameyang’s relationship with the Gunners, the club has had no say, but it’s being widely reported that Mikel Arteta is considering options for a new skipper.
Mirroring the minds of fans into uncertainty and in an ebb of frustrations, the club also added that Aubameyang will not be available for selection against West Ham on Wednesday.
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said that the “painful” decision had been made to “defend the interests of the football club”.
The Spaniard confirmed that both he and senior club officials had held face-to-face conversations with Aubameyang to inform him of their decision.
As things stand now, the club has not named anyone for the captaincy role but Alexandre Lacazette, who took the armband for Saturday’s win over Southampton, and former club captain Granit Xhaka are both known members of the leadership group, whose other current members Arteta was unwilling to confirm.
Former Arsenal manager Unai 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 later.
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 to hold back the big guns at the Emirates from stamping their authority over the squad
By: Elisha Aberiganya | Follow us on Twitter @activtvgh
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