Another day, another controversy at Arsenal!
The conversation of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's absence from the recent Southampton game had yet to die down when the north London giants released an official statement regarding the Gabonese superstar.
The former Dortmund striker was dropped from the weekend squad altogether after a disciplinary breach, with manager Mikel Arteta refusing to go into great details as to what occurred. The Athletic later explained the situation, revealing that the 32-year-old returned from a sanctioned trip later than initially scheduled and due to COVID-19 protocols, was unable to train for the Saints game, hence the punishment.
Fast forward to today and the Gunners announced their eye-catching decision regarding the captain, or shall we say former captain. Yes, Arsenal have officially stripped Aubameyang of the armband, announcing on their official website that he will also be omitted from their upcoming showdown with West Ham.
"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," the statement read.
"We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed."
It did not take long for Aubameyang to flood the headlines, with fans and pundits alike weighing in on this topic. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, he was scheduled to face the media shortly after this move was made public and thus had to answer questions from reporters.
One of the biggest questions weighing heavily on the minds of Arsenal fans is who will get the captain's armband next. Many have called for one of Kieran Tierney, Aaron Ramsdale, or Gabriel to be given the role but when asked this, Arteta stated that he is in no rush to name a new permanent captain and will instead rely on the leadership group set by his predecessor Unai Emery.
"We did it both the club and having a personal conversation with the player," the tactician said, as per the Daily Mail. "He had to accept the decision.
"We have the leadership group, within that we have different players we have nominated to be captain. We have Laca and Granit who have been captain recently.
"It's an unpleasant situation. That leadership group is strong and we will continue like that. We will try to educate them and get feedback at the right time."
The Spaniard went on to discuss the dressing room reaction to this decision, stating that everyone has accepted it and will move on, saying: "The squad accepted the decision. They know, because they have committed and demanded our culture on who we want to be as a club, ow we want to represent our club to a different level. When it's broken, you cannot take it.
"It's a really unpredictable environment in sport and there are lot of things that are hard. They are dealing with it extremely well on the pitch, the importance they are taking around the club, how vital they have been in a close season.
"That's what I want: for them to take accountability both on and off the field."
