Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is desperate to get one over on Mikel Arteta when they come face to face for the first time since the player’s exit from Arsenal on Sunday.
The Gabon international enjoyed one of the most prolific periods of his career in Arteta’s first few months as Arsenal manager with his goals responsible for an unlikely FA Cup win two years ago.
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After a couple of disciplinary breaches the relationship between the duo deteriorated to such an extent that Aubameyang was frozen out, saw his contract terminated & joined Barcelona on a free transfer.
Aubameyang helped the Catalan giants qualify for the Champions League but found himself a victim of circumstance in the summer, joining Chelsea on deadline day with Barcelona keen to cash in given their financial plight.
The 33-year-old fanned the flames ahead of the London derby by declaring himself ‘a blue’ in a promotional advert for BT Sport, but according to The Telegraph he has no ill feeling towards Arsenal, but the same cannot be said of Arteta.
Indeed, Aubameyang is reported to have been minded to join Chelsea, in part, down to the chance to get one over his old manager whom he hasn’t spoken to since he left the current Premier League leaders nearly one year ago.
Aubameyang is reported to have been shocked to learn Arteta had been compiling a dossier on his transgressions by watching the Amazon documentary ‘All or Nothing’ which was aired back in August.
Moreover, the former Dortmund star is said to feel he was scapegoated by Arteta after a couple of poor results last campaign saw the pressure mount on a manager who would go on to sign a three-year deal extension, despite failing to secure a top four finish after sanctioning Aubameyang’s exit.
Arteta was questioned about facing Aubameyang again after the Gunners secured top spot in their Europa League group after last night’s 1-0 victory over FC Zurich.
When asked about Aubameyang’s statement in the BT Sport promo, Arteta said: ‘You expect players to do that. ‘If you ask any of our players how they feel about where they are, they will say the same.’
When asked how dangerous Aubameyang could be against Arsenal, Mikel Arteta said: ‘Very dangerous.
‘If Auba has something, it’s the ability to put the ball in the back of the net and he’s going to be doing that until the day that he decides he’s had enough of football.
‘We will have to look first of all at what Chelsea do and try to put a plan together to avoid that.’
