Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has made his first comments after being dropped for Arsenal’s north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur. Speaking to Sky Sports when explaining his team selection against Spurs, Arteta confirmed the decision was disciplinary-related but refused to go into more detail regarding Aubameyang’s absence.
Mikel Arteta said: “He was going to start the game. We had a disciplinary issue, we have drawn the line and we move on, he’s on the bench. No, we obviously keep that internal. We have a process we have to respect for every game and that’s it. It’s a decision made after evaluating everything about what Auba has done and that’s it. We have other players and we’ve had to change the team recently quite a lot and we have players that are willing to play and deserve the chance, so I am confident with that.”
In the end, Arteta’s decision to take such a stance paid off and without his leading scorer, his side came from behind to seal a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette. Taking to social media after the game, Aubameyang broke his silence with a seven-word message that Arsenal fans will agree with.
Pierre emerick Aubameyang wrote: “North London is Red and that’s it!!!,”
All eyes will now be on Thursday’s Europa League last-16 second-leg clash with Olympiacos and whether Aubameyang will be recalled or is left out again. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta did suggest that he is ready to move on from the minor indiscretion.
Mikel Arteta said: “I made what I thought was the right decision. We draw a line there. Let’s move on again. We know how important Auba is for the club. It’s been dealt with and let’s move on.”
