LONDON, December 14 (BNA): Arsenal stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the captaincy on Tuesday after another disciplinary breach, saying the striker failed to comply with “the rules and standards” set by the club.
Aubameyang, Arsenal’s highest-paid player, was also said to not be considered for the Premier League game against West Ham on Wednesday, the AP reports.
The Gabon striker departed for the 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday due to what manager Mikel Arteta described as a “disciplinary breach”.
Aubameyang is reportedly allowed by the club to travel to France for a family issue last week, after the 2-1 loss to Everton on December 6 that started as a substitute, but returned later in the day than agreed.
“It was a really unpleasant situation,” Arteta said, but no decision had been made to try to “build that trust and a strong culture around the club.”
Aubameyang was left out of the squad for the north London derby against Tottenham in March due to a “disciplinary issue,” according to Arteta at the time. He was reported to have been late for training on that occasion.
Arteta did not say if there were other violations of discipline by Aubameyang.
Aubameyang has only four goals in 14 Premier League games this season after signing a three-year contract extension last year that made him the highest-paid player on the team.
He was captain of Arteta’s predecessor, Unai Emery, after Granit Shaka was stripped of the honor in November 2019 following his angry reaction to being criticized by Arsenal fans after being substituted in a league match.
Xhaka is part of a recently formed ‘leadership group’ at the club that also includes French striker Alexandre Lacazette, who was captain against Southampton.
Whoever replaces Aubameyang as captain on a permanent basis will be Arsenal’s 11th in 14 years, and Arteta said it was an important role because of the team’s “multi-ethnic locker room that needs a lot of attention, different feelings and different languages.”
Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 and another contract runs with him until the summer of 2023.
He said he wanted to become an “Arsenal legend” when using a live video recording on Twitter to announce his lucrative new deal in September last year.
And that was a bonus at the end of his first two full seasons at Arsenal as he shared the Golden Boot – the trophy given to the Premier League’s top scorer – in the 2018-19 season, and was just in short one goal of this award, won by Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, in the 2019- season. 20.
He also scored twice in the FA Cup Final in August 2020 to give Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Chelsea and the club’s first cup under Arteta.
Aubameyang’s performance levels have declined since then, he scored 10 league goals last season, which was difficult for him. In January, he was given time away to visit his mother because she had health issues and he missed matches in the Premier League and FA Cup. He also has some time in April after contracting malaria.
Arsenal are in sixth place, two points behind the fourth-placed West Ham, going into the match at the Emirates Stadium.
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