Arteta hits back at Aubameyang: I was the solution, not the problem
Martin Macdonald
- 9 Feb 2022 10:59 GMT
- 3 min read
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hit back at comments from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with regard's to the striker's January departure.
Prior to the January transfer window, Aubameyang was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy and exiled from training and matchday squads due to disciplinary issues.
It seems that Arteta made the decision that the Gabon international would not play for the club again after the incident, as he subsequently completed a free transfer to Barcelona in the winter window.
When asked about the breakdown in his relationship with Arteta, Aubameyang said at his Barca unveiling:
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“They were complicated months but I think that's how football is sometimes.
“For my part I have never wanted to do something wrong and now I think that this is the past and I want to think about the present and right now that is my answer.
“I think the problem was only with Arteta and he made the decision. I can't say much, I wasn't happy and that's it. It happened like that. I wasn't very happy, I stayed very calm and that's it.”
Arteta believes he actually presented himself as a solution to the problem, however.
"I’m extremely grateful for what Auba has done and his contribution," Arteta told reporters.
"The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution, not the problem.
"That’s his opinion, that’s what he said and you have to respect that.”
Does Arteta need to stop falling out with players?
Gunners legend Martin Keown has warned Arteta that losing a big-name player on an annual basis because of poor relations is not something that can continue, following the departures of the likes of Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil.
Speaking to Talksport, he said: “What I wanted was for Arteta to continue to get the best from a player - that’s the role of a manager isn’t it, win games and get the best from players?
“Is this decision in the best interest of Arsenal football club? That’s all I’m looking at. There is no replacement that has come in for the striker. Arsenal are in a fight for fourth place and have an opportunity to do that.
“There have been one or two fall outs, and he may feel like he’s eradicating a culture that was allowed to grow under Arsene Wenger, and I understand that.
“But at the same time all footballers are very different, so what you have to do if find a way to get the best from everybody.
“You can’t keep falling out with people!”
