Former Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has admitted he had a problem with Gunners manager Mikel Arteta as he spoke to the press today at his Barcelona unveiling.
The Gabon international has just left the Emirates Stadium for a free transfer to the Nou Camp, with his time in north London clearly ending under a bit of a cloud despite being a star player for the club for so long.
Aubameyang recently fell out of favour with Arteta, with the Spanish tactician also removing the captain’s armband from the 32-year-old.
It’s little surprise to see that the pair obviously had issues in their relationship, with Aubameyang dropping a little dig at his former manager today, as quoted by football.london’s Chris Wheatley below…
Aubameyang: "My last few months at Arsenal were complicated, that's football sometimes. For my part, I never wanted to do anything wrong. My problem was only with Arteta. I can't say much more, I wasn't happy." pic.twitter.com/onZ1xXGgXL
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) February 3, 2022
Aubameyang on his Arsenal exile:
"Those were difficult months. This is football. I've never wanted to do anything wrong, it's the past and I want to think about the present." pic.twitter.com/i0ByFvM3tB
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) February 3, 2022
Aubameyang did not go into more detail than that, but Arsenal fans will hardly be surprised by these comments.
It’s a shame for things to end this way for such a top player, however, who will now be hoping to bounce back at Barcelona.
At his best, Aubameyang is one of the most clinical finishers in the game, so he could have an important role to play in Xavi’s side, who have suffered since losing Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann in the summer, while Sergio Aguero also had to retire early this season due to health problems.
Arteta will no doubt be judged for this big decision, however, if the rest of the season doesn’t go well for Arsenal, who have been left very short of quality up front for the second half of the campaign.