Ex-Arsenal captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has opened up on the “crazy” clash with Mikel Arteta, in which the Spaniard accused him of putting a “knife” in his back.
Aubameyang was dropped early in 2021 after getting caught in traffic ahead of a north London derby and missed a number of other games while tending to his mother after she fell ill.
Arteta’s patience was tested by the superstar striker on a regular basis, as disciplinary problems became an issue, and Aubameyang’s late return for a training session after spending time with his family back in France led to Arsenal’s manager losing his cool – with Covid protocols making life difficult for everyone at that time.
Aubameyang has told Colinterview of how his working relationship with Arteta began to break down: “I arrive, the coach finishes his meeting and then he grabs me and he completely tears into me, he shouts at me like I’m crazy, he says: ‘You put a knife in my back. You can’t do that to me given the times we’re going through’.
“At that moment I tell myself that I’m not going to answer him because it’s going to end angrily. I didn’t go partying. He knows very well the reason for my departure, so at that moment, I don’t understand why he is lecturing me like this.
“I go home and the doctor calls me and says, ‘Tomorrow, the coach doesn’t want you to be there.’ I said ‘OK’, I knew the next match was coming and I said to myself, ‘Damn once again everyone is going to talk about it, it’s going to be a mess, what is this crazy thing?’ I couldn’t understand it.”
