Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
David Moyes does not believe that Arsenal are a weaker prospect on Wednesday evening despite the decision from Mikel Arteta to drop Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and strip him of the captaincy. Moyes was asked if the decision by Arteta to punish his player in such a way weekend the opposition but the Hammers manager believes there is enough quality in the Gunners squad that they can cope without Aubameyang.
David Moyes said: “I think Arsenal have shown they can play other players. [Alex] Lacazette, they’ve got [Emile] Smith Rowe, [Martin] Odegaard is scoring at the moment. I think Arsenal will be able to come through it. Sometimes these moments can make you stronger. It depends how you look at it. I still Arsenal as a strong opponent whether Aubameyang is in there or not.”
Moyes knows Arteta well from their days as manager and player at Everton and the West Ham boss agreed that discipline is a key area for any manager, particularly a young one such as the Gunners boss.
David Moyes added: “I can’t talk for Mikel and Arsenal, I don’t know what the story is so I don’t want to suggest what should or shouldn’t happen. I can only say that if I was doing a coaching course talking to young coaches I think there has to be standards set and rules to abide by and it doesn’t matter if you’re the youngest player or the oldest player, it is the same for everybody. That is the way it is at football clubs. I think sometimes as a manager you have to make decisions which can affect your team but in the long term they are probably better decisions for the club and the rest of the group of players.”
