Arteta’s Arsenal treatment of Aubameyang was appalling

After single-handedly winning Arsenal the FA Cup in 2020, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s descent from a popular player universally adored by the fans to a pariah publicly flogged and banished to Barcelona has been appalling.

Aubameyang, who scored all of Arsenal’s four goals in the semi-final against Manchester City and final against Chelsea en route to that trophy, was serenaded with praise by Mikel Arteta as he cajoled him to stay. He obliged and penned a lucrative new deal.

Since then, Aubameyang has failed to reach the heights he did so years prior. His form has dipped and his body language has fuelled speculation and doubt about his desire to play for the club.

This came to a head when Aubameyang was granted special permission to travel to visit his mother. According to reports, his transgression was missing a Covid-19 test and not returning on Wednesday, as agreed, which had protocol implications. He did, however, report on time for training.

Mikel Arteta’s treatment of Aubameyang at Arsenal was appalling as the striker bid farewell to the club on a free transfer move to Barcelona

Aubameyang was swiftly reprimanded, dropped from the squad for what Arteta merely, and cryptically, described as a “disciplinary breach.” Arteta, when pressed, refused to divulge what precisely the “breach” was, prompting suspicion and rumours to circulate.

The Gabonese international was excluded from the Arsenal squad ever since and not permitted to train with the first team. He was also not allowed to travel with the squad to Dubai, instructed to train alone, while Jack Wilshere, who is not contracted with the club, is currently in Dubai to train with the squad.

He was stripped of the captaincy after the incident for what the club described as the “latest disciplinary breach,” suggesting there were other incidents of malfeasance.

We do not know what all of them were, but they will certainly include him arriving late for the North London Derby in March 2021, where he was dropped for a culmination of late arrivals. Him breaking Covid protocol to get a tattoo likely did not endear him to the manager either.

Those sympathetic to Arteta’s hard-line stance on Aubameyang point to the importance of setting standards in the squad and Aubameyang falling foul of expectations other times. He has taken a significant gamble with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, not prolific or reliable goalscorers and out of contract in the summer, now expected to lead the charge for the remainder of the season.

Arteta does have uncompromising streak, exiling players like Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi in unceremonious fashion for obscure reasons. Guendouzi is on his second loan move and is set to be sold in the summer for a measly £8m.

And when Willian breached Covid-19 protocols in November 2020, Arteta defused questions by saying it will be handled “internally”. Willian was not dropped and started the next game at Leeds.

One player who has consistently imperilled Arsenal’s progress by committing a stream of ‘errors’, Granit Xhaka, has strangely not been subjected to Arteta’s wrath. His seemingly never-ending ‘mistakes’ appear to matter little to the manager.

In a startling and illuminating comment after Xhaka’s red card against Burnley in December 2020, Arteta revealed that he ‘protects’ players that ‘deserve’ it. But weeks prior, when Nicolas Pepe received a red card for a far less violent incident at Leeds, Arteta slammed his actions as “unacceptable.” Did Pepe not deserve protection? Governing a squad by favouritism only breeds resentment and contempt.

Furthermore, imposing boundaries and setting behavioural standards players have to follow is, of course, important, especially for such a young and impressionable squad. But blackballing the squad’s best striker, considering Arsenal’s January attacking struggles, may be detrimental as they remain entangled in a tough Premier League top four battle.

Arteta is a novice in his role. Although he was under Guardiola at City, he has never individually managed a squad of players. Perhaps he does not command the aura of respect that other top managers do due to his inexperience and believes he will earn respect by being strict.

Aubameyang was evidently declining and his exit could have been handled in a less acrimonious fashion. But Arteta has deemed him surplus to requirements and strengthened his grip on the Arsenal squad. That means he owns what unfolds.