Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has opened up on his Arsenal exit and how he was left stunned by Mikel Arteta's decision to turn against him. The Gabon star, 35, was Arsenal's captain and one of their most influential players before falling out with Arteta. He was subsequently frozen out, stripped of the captaincy and eventually moved on.
The catalyst for said events was Aubameyang returning to the club late from a trip to France to visit his unwell mother. The incident, which occurred in December 2021, was complicated by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic protocols. But it also proved to be terminal for both Aubameyang's Arsenal career and his relationship with Arteta, who the forward says could and should have done more to support him given the circumstances.
Reflecting on the incident in an interview with The Athletic, Aubameyang says: “My mistake. I should have come back the night before, but I arrived in the morning. I didn’t tell them that I would miss the flight because I was preoccupied with my mum’s stuff (medical examinations).
“I went directly to a team meeting. Everything was normal. After that, he (Arteta) said, ‘Come with me’. This is where he started shouting. He said I could not do this because I was the captain and it was not acceptable.”. Aubameyang went on to add how he was left furious by Arteta's actions following the incident, claiming that the Spaniard knew all the facts behind his leave of absence.
The star continued: “He said I gave him a knife in his back; I don’t know why he said that. I was really p**sed off because it was not true and he knew why I flew. He knew the reason and what was happening, he knew I was struggling that year. I was expecting help from him, not killing me like this.
