Aubameyang is the new Ozil & stripping captaincy is not enough
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 14 Dec 2021 11:55 GMT
- 3 min read
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s name was conspicuous by its absence from the Arsenal teamsheet as they dismantled Southampton 3-0 on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s men are making a run for the Champions League spots, which is being driven in spite of, rather than with, their (now former) captain.
Aubameyang is supposed to lead Arsenal by example, but instead he has simply been letting them down.
Poor form is excusable – Aubameyang has only four Premier League goals to his name this season in 14 appearances – but a poor attitude is not.
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Why was Aubameyang dropped?
Indeed, Arteta confirmed after the fixture with Southampton that the forward was dropped because of ill discipline.
“Unfortunately he’s absent due to a disciplinary breach,” Arteta said before kick-off.
“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.
“It’s certainly not an easy situation, or a situation that we want to have our club captain in.”
What did Aubameyang do?
It has been reported that Aubameyang’s timekeeping was once again responsible for him being dropped by Arteta for the Southampton fixture and not a rift between the manager and the player following the forward being a substitute for the 2-1 loss against Everton.
This, of course, is not a first for Aubameyang. He had already been dropped earlier in 2021 due to a similar issue.
What next?
On Tuesday, Arsenal announced that Aubameyang had been stripped of the club captaincy.
"Following his latest disciplinary breach last week, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no longer be our club captain, and will not be considered for selection for Wednesday's match against West Ham United.
"We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed."
In his post-match press conference, Arteta denied that he was ready to offload Aubameyang, who is under contract until 2023, but he should be pushing to do that privately.
Not only is the forward struggling, but he is on massive wages and setting a poor example to those around him.
Arsenal could find themselves in the situation they did with Mesut Ozil, when they were unable to rid themselves of an aging star due to their massive wage packet.
The Gunners solved the Ozil issue by allowing him to depart on a free transfer to Fenerbahce while still paying a portion of his wages.
The Aubameyang situation has not reached such a crisis point yet, but it needs addressed before it goes that far, or else Arsenal could find themselves saddled with a very expensive makeweight once more. January is the time to cash in.
