Arsenal boss Arteta makes Aubameyang Europa League decision

Mikel Arteta is expected to offer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang an immediate chance at redemption against Olympiacos on Thursday as Arsenal look to secure their place in the Europa League quarter-finals.

Mere hours before kick-off against Tottenham, a decision was made to omit Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the starting lineup. His name not featuring on the teamsheet wasn’t a great surprise.

Alexandre Lacazette is a certified ‘big-game player’, and with European progression the priority, resting the captain seemed like a fair trade, even for this fixture. However, Arteta’s decision to go public with the reasons for leaving the captain out caused a stir, even if the vast majority back the Spaniard’s decision.

It resulted in a glum looking Aubameyang – as one would’ve expected and liked to see – on the bench, whose response to drive off less than half and hour after kick-off signaled his discontent. Above all, he’ll be disappointed in himself.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta makes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Europa League decision against Olympaicos

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta insisted the issue as been dealt with:

"“We talked, everything has been resolved in a really positive way so we move forward,” he told the official Arsenal website.“No [he’s not a certain starter on Thursday].”"

It was said before the 2-1 win and has been reiterated now, with The Times even adding that Arteta is ‘expected’ to field the 31-year-old against Olympiacos.

As the leader of this group of players, nothing works better as an apology to them than putting in an angry and ruthless display on Thursday. Score the goals to fully put the tie to bed just as this overall issue can be neatly tucked away.

The game suits him well too, with Olympiacos having to surrender a few extra yards in behind in their search for no less than three goals, presenting the striker with the low-touch scenarios in behind with space to attack he thrives on.

As captain he leads by example magnificently – 100 goal involvements in 138 matches is astronomical, especially when factoring in this dire campaign. As an example off it, he isn’t the archetypal captain’s figure and the numerous misdemeanours this term attest to that, even if the players regularly herald his attitude.

He isn’t, and shouldn’t, being stripped of his position, though. The negative ramifications would be too great. For as long as he’s here, he’ll score the goals asked of him and that will do.