Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has dramatically stripped the captaincy from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang following disciplinary issues from the Gabonese – but has found himself coming under attack from sections of his own fans.
Arteta was himself captain of Arsenal during his playing days. The Basque boss chose to discipline Aubameyang in March over the forward's lateness, resulting in the star missing a north London derby win – and again punished his player ahead of the Southampton victory at the weekend.
Reports circulated during Saturday's match that Aubameyang had been visiting his mother in France and returned late to the Gunners camp, failing to follow COVID-19 procedure. Now, the club have confirmed that the 32-year-old will not continue as skipper.
But social media is torn between the manager and the player over who to back in the debate.
While many have suggested that Arteta is right to have to taken the responsibility away from the former Dortmund forward, others have questioned whether or not the manager would have taken such action, were Aubameyang in top form. With confusion over COVID protocols at current and the reasoning of the player visiting his mother – who was reportedly ill earlier this year – some fans have shown sympathy with the player.
Others have suggested that Arteta was wrong to publicly call out his reasoning for dropping Aubameyang at the weekend – and should have dealt with the matter more discretely.
In the aftermath of Arsenal's defeat to Everton, Gary Neville suggested a rift between the captain and boss before an issue was thought to have been present.
"There's always a little bit of a bug between Arteta and Aubameyang, I know he's the captain but he leaves him out and it feels like something a bit awkward," Neville said on Monday Night Football, with Arteta choosing to bring on out-of-contract Eddie Nketiah ahead of the Gabonese goal-getter in the Gunners' defeat.
"It's going to cause a problem and I bet if he could get a bit of money for him and get someone else they would. And I bet if Aubameyang could he would move on as well because it could turn a little sour."
Some on social media are now claiming that Arteta has intentionally tried to provoke his player and suggest he isn't welcome anymore, citing the previous breakdown between Arteta and Mesut Ozil, that led the German terminating his contract in north London months ahead of its expiration.
The whole story is yet to surface, however, and while there may be some truth in Arteta now seeing Aubameyang as a little more expendable than he was in March, there's no evidence that he has engineered the situation. The fiasco is at least consistent with his call for "non-negotiables" from his players – and though rumours are swirling of Aubameyangs impending departure, there isn't proof just yet that he will leave the club.
Arsenal will take on West Ham in the Premier League tomorrow night without Aubameyang in the squad.
