It has been over a year since the seemingly hopeless situation surrounding Mesut Ozil resolved itself at Arsenal. Fifteen months later, however, the north London club is in the same boat, now that one of the highest paid players in the selection has once again been discredited with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Last week, manager Mikel Arteta took the captain’s armband from his striker, after which he was also removed from the selection. English media doubt whether the Gabonese will ever wear the shirt of the gunners will be admired. How did it escalate in fifteen months?
By Mart Oude Nijeweeme
‘My manager’. Those were the words Aubameyang added to a post on Instagram in August 2020. In the photo, a proud striker posed with his manager. Location: Wembley. Arsenal had just won the FA Cup at the expense of Chelsea, when the duo allowed themselves to be captured on the sensitive plate with the won trophy. Barely two months later, the duo had themselves photographed again, this time at Aubameyang’s home. With his right hand, the Gabonese striker signed a new three-year contract, immediately putting an end to all speculation about his future. On his left shoulder rested Arteta’s hand, who seemed at least as delighted with the contract news.
“It was important for Pierre-Emerick to stay with us,” Arteta told the club’s website. “He’s a great player with an incredible mentality. It says it all that he is the player who needed the least number of games to score 50 goals at the club. That’s all you need to know about him and his way of working. ” Aubameyang, in turn, revealed what made the difference for him. “Arteta said, ‘Okay, you have the option to leave. I don’t know what you’re thinking at the moment, but you can go to another club and play for the trophies, or you can stay here and leave a nice legacy. That was the key word for me.”
The photo of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mikel Arteta at Wembley after the FA Cup final against Chelsea.
Arteta convinced Aubameyang, who earns a weekly salary of more than 300,000 euros with his new contract, of the fact that as captain he could become the figurehead of a new era. Arsenal also considered it necessary to announce Aubameyang’s contract extension by means of a spectacular revelation. After all, the club desperately continues to prove that years of gradual stagnation and decline are behind them and a young, unproven manager has the dynamism needed to the gunners to bring it back to the glory days. The FA Cup win clearly pointed in that direction. By beating Manchester City in the semi-finals and Chelsea in the final, Arsenal proved it was no fluke.
Aubameyang also proved his worth by scoring four times from seven created shots in those two matches. The striker set the example when it mattered. Negotiations for a new contract then progressed steadily. The confirmation came on September 15, just a few days after the formal paperwork was completed. In reality, the deal was already sealed a few weeks earlier. The delay was thanks to Adam Gardiner, who, as the new head of marketing, wanted to cause an explosion on social media. Long internal conversations followed, culminating in a video in which Aubameyang expressed his dream of becoming a legend in North London.
Until then, Aubameyang had scored 72 goals in 111 games since he was bought from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 for a record €56 million. The fifteen months that followed saw only 20 goals in 52 games. That relapse in itself is not alarming, but while the discussion often revolved around whether he should play in the point or on the left, uncertainty about his behavior grew outside the lines. And let that be one of Arsenal’s biggest problems. The erosion of a professional, ruthless culture. It reflects the image of the last days under the rule of Arsène Wenger. The Frenchman selected his captains for both contractual situations and leadership characteristics. A strategy that failed both Cesc Fàbregas and Robin van Persie.
The click that Aubameyang had with Arteta at the time of signing the contract seemed like a bull’s eye. A match made in heaven. How different it is more than a year later. Aubameyang’s fall is one that stems from a series of incidents which Arteta says have made the striker’s position as captain untenable. Two weeks ago, shortly before the league game against Southampton (3-0), Arteta announced that Aubameyang had not been included in the match selection. A disciplinary punishment, it turned out later. Aubameyang had failed to live up to the agreements after traveling to France with the club’s permission to visit his mother.
The captain left on Tuesday and was due to return to London on Wednesday. The latter did not happen. Aubameyang did not return until Thursday and had not taken the mandatory PCR test into account, which meant that the morning training session passed him by. Arsenal decided to send the star player home and announced that he did not have to report to the club on Friday either. It was an incident that did not come out of the blue, as Aubameyang’s place within the selection had been under pressure for some time. The attacker was left out of the starting lineup for the away game against Everton (2-1), after failing to score in five consecutive games. To make matters worse, Arteta first brought in Eddie Nketiah at Goodison Park, before Aubameyang was allowed to show up for another five minutes.
Arteta denied afterwards that a rift had developed between him and Aubameyang. “I have a very good relationship with my players. They have to understand that I always do the best for the club and the team,” he said. Sky Sports. It was not the first time that Aubameyang showed his worst side. Last year he was fined for missing a corona test before a Europa League game, in February images surfaced of getting a tattoo during strict corona restrictions and in March he was late for the derby against Tottenham Hotspur. Arteta posted it on the couch, but set it up again a week later. It didn’t get that far this time. Aubameyang was summoned to return to the club on Monday, after which a solid conversation with Arteta followed and he was told that he would no longer act as captain.
“We expect all our players, especially our captain, to work according to the rules and standards that we have all set and agreed upon,” the club said. Notable was the fact that the statement began with the words “last disciplinary violation.” At the press conference prior to the game against Sunderland in the EFL Cup, Arteta also hinted that it was not just one incident. The Spanish coach felt compelled to intervene and saw sufficient reasons to again impose a disciplinary penalty on his star player. Not least because Aubameyang has broken the corona protocols before.
Arteta’s move was not without consequences, as Aubameyang is regarded as a much-loved figure within Arsenal’s squad. Okay, he himself dropped out of a team outing he organized, but that hasn’t diminished his popularity. “They accept my decision,” Arteta said when asked about the impact Aubameyang’s situation had on the dressing room. “I think everyone realizes that we need to take our culture, our demands and who we want to be as a club to another level.” Whether there is still a place for Aubameyang in the selection remains highly uncertain. In any case, a quick return seems out of the question.
The biggest challenge now is to appoint a new captain. Aubameyang was named captain in November 2019 after Arteta snatched the belt from Granit Xhaka over an outburst at Arsenal fans who booed him after he walked too slowly off the pitch after a substitution in the home game against Crystal Palace. Who’s the new captain of the gunners to be has not yet been announced by the club. Kieran Tierney, Aaron Ramsdale and Alexandre Lacazette appear to be the main candidates. A group of experienced players are expected to alternate as captains until the end of the season. Given the difficult relationship with the fans, it seems impossible that Xhaka will be reassigned to the band.
Tierney is put forward by many as the natural leader, as the left-back has shown he has the right qualities during his time at Celtic. However, his injury susceptibility also raises questions. A captain who is often absent is not conducive to team spirit. Gabriel Magalhães also sees his influence as a central defender increasing, although the Brazilian only speaks limited English, which is seen by many as a stumbling block. The last in line is Martin Ödegaard. The technician also wears the band with the Norwegian national team and would therefore be a suitable candidate, but has only just arrived in north London.
Then Lacazette is left. The French striker currently serves as vice-captain, but is no guarantee for the future given his expiring contract. “It is not the time to make a hasty decision,” Arteta said when asked who could be the next captain. Partly due to the lack of first-rate strikers, it will be intriguing to see how long Aubameyang will continue to take the plunge. Ozil, like Mattéo Guendouzi, found there was no turning back after failing Arteta’s test to meet the manager’s demands. It remains to be seen whether Aubameyang will follow the same path.