Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped of his captaincy by Arsenal, as announced by the club via a statement on Tuesday morning. The striker breached club regulations and was not included in the squad to face Southampton last weekend. He will also miss the visit from West Ham United as part of the continued punishment.
The statement released by the club read confirmed both of the above decisions; it read as follow:
“We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed.
“We are fully focused on tomorrow’s match.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta refused to delve deeper into the reasons behind Aubameyang’s absence during the Southampton game – and the decisions that followed – when asked about it in a prior press conference. However, ESPN confirmed that it was due to him returning late from a sanctioned holiday, thereby committing a disciplinary breach in the eyes of the club.
Furthermore, this wasn’t the first instance of Aubameyang breaching the club rules; the forward also missed a North London derby last March after showing up late at a team meeting. The 32-year-old was likewise warned by the club a month prior to that incident after he was filmed getting a new tattoo amid strict COVID-19 measures.
Aubameyang becomes the second successive Arsenal captain to be stripped of his captaincy after the same fate had befallen his predecessor Granit Xhaka. The Swiss international was removed from the role following an incident in a match against Crystal Palace in October 2019, when he abused the jeering home crowd as he walked off the pitch upon being substituted.
