Get up to speed with everything you must know about the recent dismissal of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Arsenal captain and why Mikel Arteta removed him
32-years-old Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped of the captaincy by the Arsenal board. Meanwhile, he will also miss the next match against West Ham on Wednesday owing to disciplinary issues.
Arsenal announced that following his latest disciplinary breach last week, Pierre Aubameyang will no longer be club captain. 🚫 #AFC
Arsenal are already planning to sign a new striker for 2022 – probably in the summer.
To be clear: there are no talks with Vlahović/agents. pic.twitter.com/0wcKuhJl77
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 14, 2021
Explained Why Was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Removed As Arsenal Captain
Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal board are fed up with the unprofessional behavior of the striker and expect him to act like a responsible figure. Aubameyang is one of the senior players of the squad which is filled with youngsters.
Things had gone on a downtick for Aubameyang last week with him being left out of his team’s encounter against Southampton. It was down to him going back to France to bring back his ailing mother.
While Arsenal had accorded him permission to go to France on Wednesday, the club had asked the striker to return back to the club on the same day. The Gabonese striker had meanwhile decided to return to the UK on Thursday and owing to COVID norms, he was unable to return to training till Friday with the set of events leaving Arteta irked.
This season has not been an easy one for Mikel Arteta who feels like Pierre must step up now. Arsenal are currently sixth in the Premier League table just 1 point behind Man United. They are currently occupying a Europa League spot and their target is to achieve a top 4 finish. They face West Ham on Wednesday who are fourth in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta Said-
“Well, we have the leadership group, and we think that we have different players that are nominated to be captain, In the last game it was Laca, we have Granit who has been captain as well. We will follow that. Obviously, it’s a really unpleasant situation and it’s not the moment to make any rash decisions.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who is the highest-earning player in the Arsenal squad has been left out of the midweek clash against West Ham. Meanwhile, the Arsenal board have stripped down his captaincy and are looking to sell him in the summer. This isn’t the first time the striker has been involved in contentious issues with him previously punished as well by Arteta for his demeanor and reporting late to training.
Arsenal have a few options like Lacazette and Granit Xhaka who are the senior players in the squad. This whole situation regarding Aubameyang feels like the isolation of Mesut Ozil by the Gunners who are going in aggressive on their players.
Ben White is meanwhile said to take over as the new captain of the club.
Aubameyang Arsenal Contract, Salary, Career Stats, Goals
He earns a whopping £350,000 weekly including goal-scoring bonuses and loyalty. Aubameyang signed a contract extension with the club last summer bagging £55 million. Now, Arsenal are prepared to let him go but he has aged and his market value has decreased significantly.
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AC Milan | 2007–08 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dijon (loan) | 2008–09 | Ligue 2 | 34 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 10 | ||
| Lille (loan) | 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |
| Monaco (loan) | 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 2 | ||
| Saint-Étienne | 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 14 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 38 | 18 | |||
| 2012–13 | Ligue 1 | 37 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 45 | 21 | |||
| Total | 87 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | — | — | 97 | 41 | ||||
| Borussia Dortmund | 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 32 | 13 | 6 | 2 | — | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 16 | |
| 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 33 | 16 | 4 | 5 | — | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 46 | 25 | ||
| 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 31 | 25 | 4 | 3 | — | 14 | 11 | — | 49 | 39 | |||
| 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 32 | 31 | 4 | 2 | — | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 40 | ||
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 16 | 13 | 1 | 3 | — | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 21 | ||
| Total | 144 | 98 | 19 | 15 | — | 46 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 213 | 141 | |||
| Arsenal | 2017–18 | Premier League | 13 | 10 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 10 | |||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 36 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 8 | — | 51 | 31 | ||
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 36 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | — | 44 | 29 | ||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 29 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 15 | |
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | — | — | 15 | 7 | |||
| Total | 128 | 68 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 163 | 92 | ||
| Career total | 426 | 215 | 32 | 25 | 15 | 5 | 81 | 40 | 5 | 3 | 559 | 288 |