Arteta is right to strip Aubameyang of the Arsenal captaincy – but it’s a huge risk

The decision has been made, one that felt like it was brewing in the background but still beyond reach due the events of just over one year ago. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy.

And Mikel Arteta was right to do so.

One need only look at the wording of the club’s official statement to gather that this is not because of one isolated incident.

"It begins: “Following his latest disciplinary breach last week […]”"

Mikel Arteta was right to strip Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the Arsenal captaincy – but it’s a huge risk in the short term

There appeared to be a shift this season. Aubameyang has looked as engaged as ever on the pitch. While performances and goal numbers have stagnated, the energy, as Arteta put it, he ‘transmitted’ on the pitch was greater than that he’d seen from the captain throughout his time in charge of the club. He even used the word ‘leader’.

But this isn’t about leadership on the grass. This is about setting an example; being a figurehead fortunate enough to hold such an honour in a squad bursting with youthful exuberance looking for a role model to guide them.

Multiple breaches of the rules and standards set by the club have prompted this decision. Informed on Monday, Aubameyang will not be considered for selection against West Ham.

The exact role of a captain in football, or at least in this particular squad, feels diluted. The actual leadership element of the responsibility more symbolic than anything else. But it doesn’t matter. Whether you are the captain, the highest paid player, or both, if you do not abide by what are relatively simple regulations then you should be punished accordingly.

Become a repeat offender and the penalties are harsher. This is the harshest of all, and Arteta was right to do so. This line from The Athletic evidences that the latest infraction was the straw to break the camel’s back.

"“Some at Arsenal argue that while Arteta has shown a willingness to bend the rules for Aubameyang, the player still manages to break them,” the story reads."

However, this is a decision that comes with huge risk, albeit risk that is forced as the complications of merely brushing this under the carpet until the next time has its own negative internal reactions.

What Arteta is doing is trusting his young squad. The dramatic shift in recruitment strategy and change of culture have seen him put faith in the group to band together and be unified in their response. He must feel there is enough collective leadership here to step up to the plate and maintain the pursuit for European football amid the seismic media tidal wave that will follow.

He is also making this decision working on the basis that the players will side with him. Such a likebale character on and off the pitch, how disheartened will they feel about seeing a close friend and colleague stripped of the captaincy? Will they respect the manager’s decision or may there be some form of subconscious mutiny; you’d argue that Nicolas Pepe isn’t going to sit on the fence, for example.

Across the short-term, it’s a bold call. But the timing may also work to the manager’s favour with Aubameyang set to depart for AFCON in less than two weeks. Even still, it is surely impossible to gauge the response from the group to such a giant call at this stage of a season.

Not one to shy away from the big decisions, while this could be Arteta’s biggest yet, he was right to do so even if it sends shockwaves through a club that could unsettle its new foundations.