Arsenal star reveals why Aubameyang quit for Barcelona
Carlo Garganese
- 1 Mar 2022 09:10 GMT
- 3 min read
Arsenal defender Gabriel has confirmed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the club in January after a bust-up with coaching staff.
Aubameyang joined Barca on a free transfer in January from Arsenal, having been frozen out of the squad at the Emirates for disciplinary reasons.
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The 32-year-old had been the best-paid player at Arsenal on £350,000 per week but was so desperate to leave he agreed to reduce his salary to make the move to Barca.
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There have been many reports that Aubameyang had a big falling-out with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and this appears to have been confirmed by Gabriel.
What did Gabriel say about Aubameyang?
“Aubameyang is in my heart, we all wanted him at Arsenal,” Gabriel told Ohmygoal.
“It (his exit) is something that happened between him and the coaching staff, the other players were not involved in it.e watching
“I said goodbye to him before he left, I hope he enjoys Barcelona, he is a nice person with a big heart and I love him very much.”
Aubameyang has had a fantastic start to life at Barcelona and has scored five goals in his last three games for the club.
He hit a hat-trick in the win against Valencia, before following that up with a goal against Napoli in the Europa League and another strike in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Aubameyang himself recently spoke about his decision to leave Arsenal for Barcelona.
What did Aubameyang say about joining Barcelona?
"I really wanted to go to Barca,” he told Mundo Deportivo.
"I gave up my salary because it is an opportunity that you have once in your life.
"We want to win the league and the Champions League here."
Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 and scored 92 goals in 163 games for the club, winning the FA Cup in 2020.
