Aubameyang’s ‘surprise’ Barca trip leaves his Arsenal credibility in pieces
Robin Bairner
- 31 Jan 2022 17:26 GMT
- 3 min read
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Deadline Day antics were a further slap in the face to Arsenal as the Gabon international forward openly courted a move to Barcelona.
Aubameyang was spotted in Spain ahead of the close of the January window, but in one of the strangest pieces of football transfer news this month, it emerged that the Gunners had no idea he had made the trip.
While some sources have passed it off as little more than a ‘family holiday’, Sky Sports reports that the attacker’s jaunt to Catalunya ‘surprised’ the Gunners.
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It was a strange decision from Aubameyang given that the deal always seemed to hinge on Barcelona finding an exit door for Ousmane Dembele in January, which was something that always looked doubtful.
Now there is no way out for Aubameyang, who was reportedly willing to slash his wages to move the deal happen, and he will be with Arsenal until at least the summer.
And this conclusion to the January transfer window is not a good look for a player whose reputation at the Emirates Stadium had already been shot to pieces in recent weeks.
A history of disrespect
Aubameyang has not played under Mikel Arteta since early December, and while this has partly been because of international duty and health issues, it is hard to see how the veteran attacker can have a route back into favour in the next 18 months. Even more so after his latest act of disrespect.
It continues a trend that has been evident for many months now. Aubameyang’s timekeeping has been publicly rebuked by the Gunners in the past, while he was stripped of the captaincy after another act of indiscipline in December.
To his credit, Arteta has not backed down from the challenge given to him by the club’s most lavishly paid player. It has certainly complicated the manager’s life as Arsenal are a side lacking in firepower and could be saddled with the forward for another 18 months, at which point his contract will run out, but there is little doubt that it has won the Spaniard the respect of the supporters.
Aubameyang clearly wants out of Arsenal and did everything to make this last-ditch move to Barcelona work. Only, it was not enough and has hindered his standing at the club even more.
