West Ham United manager David Moyes has expressed his support for colleague Mikel Arteta, following news that Arsenal are changing their captain.
Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was, until earlier today, Arsenal club captain.
However, a club announcement confirmed that the Gabon international has been relieved of his duties as captain following a breach of discipline that led to him being left out of the squad for The Gunners 3-0 demolition of Southampton.
The Arsenal statement also confirmed that Aubameyang would not be considered for selection for the game against West Ham.
Furthermore, this is not Aubameyang’s first breach of conduct even this year, with the 32-year-old previously being dropped for the North London Derby at the back end of last season for disciplinary reasons.
Aubameyang was awarded the captaincy in November 2019 while Unai Emery was in charge, after Granit Xhaka was stripped of it following an outburst of rage against Arsenal fans during a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace a week prior.
One of the most likely candidates to take over the Arsenal captaincy would be Kieran Tierney, a vocal figure on the pitch and one of the squad’s most experienced players.
In his pre-match press conference Moyes supported Arteta over the decision, and lavished praise on West Ham captain Mark Noble for the work he does on the field and behind the scenes, including helping to prepare £63 million rated Declan Rice to be a future captain.
You can watch the full video below.
? "Managers have to make decisions."
David Moyes reacts to Mikel Arteta stripping Aubameyang as captain and says he is lucky with the leaders he has at West Ham pic.twitter.com/Xg6ISKJdUW
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 14, 2021
Pictures courtesy of Sky Sports.