Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recently revealed the complexities surrounding his departure from Arsenal, highlighting that Mikel Arteta had accused him of betrayal during their strained relationship.
Previously the team’s captain, Aubameyang had renewed his contract with Arsenal 18 months before his departure in February 2022.
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However, his final appearance for the team was in December 2021, after which Arteta excluded him from the squad.
It is understood that Arteta’s decision to ostracize Aubameyang came after the latter was late returning from an approved trip.
The deterioration in their relationship led to Aubameyang agreeing to a mutual contract termination with Arsenal, followed by a last-minute transfer to Barcelona.
After a brief stint at Camp Nou, Aubameyang transferred to Chelsea for the 2022-23 season, a move that did not pan out as expected.
Reflecting on the incident more than two years later, the striker from Gabon emphasized that he had Arteta’s approval for his extended trip and expressed confusion over Arteta’s stringent stance.
‘It was during the COVID period and we were playing, I think, Everton,’ Aubameyang told Colinterview. ‘My season wasn’t great, we were struggling in the league and the day before the coach told us: “Look, it doesn’t matter if we win or not, you have a day off.
‘”But if you want to leave, you notify yourself before the match because you have to follow the health safety rules.”
‘My mother a few months before had a stroke, it was going to be Christmas time so I went to see the coach and I said to him: “Coach, I’m coming to see you because I’d like to leave, I’m going to go pick up my mother to bring her back for the holidays.”
‘He tells me no problem.’
Due to the neccessity of strict Covid-19 protocols, Aubameyang was reportedly slightly delayed in his return to the club – which prompted a tough response from his manager.
‘I arrive, the coach finishes his meeting, and then he grabs me and completely tears into me,’ Aubemayang continued, ‘he shouts at me like I’m crazy.
‘He says: “You put a knife in my back. You can’t do that to me, given the times we’re going through.”
‘At that moment, I tell myself that I’m not going to answer him because it’s going to end angrily.
‘I didn’t go partying. He knows very well the reason for my departure so at that moment I don’t understand why he is lecturing me like this. I go home and the doctor calls me and says “Tomorrow, the coach doesn’t want you to be there.”‘
‘The days pass and the doctor tells me: “Look, he doesn’t want you to be with the group anymore, but you will be able to come and train but separately.”
‘I say to myself OK… And then afterwards, he calls me and we have a meeting so he can explain to me that one, he’s taking away the captain’s armband, and two, I’m not training any more with the group.’
Ahead of his deadline day move, Aubameyang said that he had one last meeting with Arteta that saw the head coach share that he had been keen to use his former skipper as an ‘example’ to the dressing room.
‘Once again, (Arteta) explains why he is against me during this period when it was complicated for the club,’ the 34-year-old added.
‘That I have to be an example and that I couldn’t do that. At that moment, I said, “I admit that I have my share of responsibility, but the real cause I think you can understand if you are a little bit human. You can understand my move.”
‘After that, it was over, I stayed for a month training on my own while waiting for the break.
After Aubameyang’s transfer, Arteta was keen to remain tight-lipped on the situation, but stressed that he saw himself as the ‘solution’ in the problematic relationship he had shared with the forward.
‘I’m extremely grateful for what Auba has done at the club for his contribution since I have been here,’ Arteta said. ‘The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution not the problem.
‘I have been the solution. One hundred per cent. I can look in the eye of anybody. I do a lot of things wrong for sure but the intention all the time is the best and not for me, it’s for the club and for the team.’
