Arsenal Head coach Mikel Arteta said Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang “needs time to heal” after being stripped of the captain’s armband and he refused to rule out the prospect of the striker leaving in January.
It was confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the 32-year-old player will no longer wear the captain’s armband following a “discipline issue” that sources have told ESPN regarding the striker’s late return from a sanctioned break.
Aubameyeong was kicked out of the team because Win 3-0 on Saturday end Southampton and will not be reviewed when West Ham visit Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
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When asked if he would consider letting Aubameyang leave in January, Arteta gave a more vague answer than last Friday to the same question, when he said the club ” never discussed” about it.
“I can say right now that we’ve made this decision. Unfortunately it’s been a really tough decision and obviously if I had to choose, I wouldn’t want to sit here talking about it but but we have to do it. But for now, he’s not on the team,” said Arteta, who added that he informed the Gabon international of his decision in live talks.
Urged on when Aubameyang could return to play, Arteta added: “What I can tell you now is the decision we made was because he was really injured, and it remains the same. like this and he needs some time to heal, so for now, he’s not in the squad.
“Ever since I’ve been here, [my relationship with Aubameyang has been] really, really good. That’s why it hurts. “
Responding to how Aubameyang received this news, Arteta frankly replied: “He has to accept the decision”.
Arteta dodged questions about details of Aubameyang’s negligence but added that “we made this decision based on certain times when he failed to fulfill his duties.”
There will be no immediate successor to be appointed, Arteta happily shares the responsibilities within his leadership team, which includes Granite Xhaka and Alexandre Lacazette and others.
Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy after cursing Arsenal supporters who booed him when he was substituted for a match in October 2019 under former manager Unai Emery.
He has quietly rehabilitated himself under Arteta, who said: “We have the leadership team and we have different players who have been nominated as captains, in the previous match was Laca, we were already had Granite as captain, so we’ll follow that.
“It’s a really nasty situation and it’s not the time to [make] any rash decision. That leadership group is really strong, it’s the group that communicates with myself, the coaching staff and with the club in a really strong and clear way and we will continue that.
“It was one of our decisions, to make that team a little bit better and try to educate them and try to get the right feedback every time, and build trust and a strong culture. around the club. The club is doing very well so we will continue to do that.”
Aubameyang’s timekeeping was previously a problem. In March, he was dropped from the squad for the winning north London derby Tottenham for reporting late to a team meeting on game day.
A month earlier, he was “reminded of his responsibility” after footage emerged of him getting a tattoo despite the strict COVID-19 protocols in place at Premier League clubs. and nationwide.
