DUBAI: Arsenal stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the captaincy on Tuesday after another disciplinary breach, saying the striker hadn’t worked “to the rules and standards” set by the club.
Aubameyang, Arsenal’s highest-paid player, was also told he would not be considered for selection for the English Premier League game against West Ham on Wednesday.
The Gabon striker was left out for the 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday because of what manager Mikel Arteta described as a “disciplinary breach.” Aubameyang reportedly was allowed by the club to travel to France for a family matter last week, after the 2-1 loss at Everton on Dec. 6 which he started as a substitute, but returned a day later than agreed.
Arteta said it was a “really unpleasant situation” but the decision was taken in a bid to “build that trust and strong culture around the club.”
“They have demanded that we ... take our culture, our demands and who we want to be as a club — and how we want to represent this football club — to a different level,” Arteta said of his squad. “And when those standards are not met, you know you cannot participate on a daily basis.”
Aubameyang was left out of the team for the north London derby against Tottenham in March because of a “disciplinary issue,” according to Arteta at the time. He was reported to have been late for training on that occasion.
Arteta didn’t say if there had been other breaches of discipline by Aubameyang.
“We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed,” Arsenal said in a short statement.
“We are fully focused on tomorrow’s match.”
Aubameyang has just four goals in 14 Premier League games this season after signing a three-year contract extension last year that made him the team’s highest-paid player.
He was made captain by Arteta’s predecessor, Unai Emery, after Granit Xhaka was stripped of the honor in November 2019 following his angry reaction to being booed by Arsenal fans after being substituted in a league game.
Xhaka is part of a recently formed “leadership group” at the club which also involves French striker Alexandre Lacazette, who was captain against Southampton.
Whoever replaces Aubameyang as captain on a permanent basis will be Arsenal’s 11th in 14 years, and Arteta said it was a significant role because of the team’s “multi-racial dressing room that needs a lot of attention and different feelings and different languages.”
“That leadership group is really strong, is the one that communicates with myself and the coaching staff and with the club in a really clear and strong way, and we will continue like that,” Arteta said.
“That is one of the decisions we made — to make that group a little bit better and try to educate them and to get the right feedback all the time and build that trust and strong culture around the club.”
Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 and his latest contract runs to the summer of 2023.
He said he wanted to become “an Arsenal legend” when using a live video recording on Twitter to announce his lucrative new deal in September last year. That was a reward at the end of his first two full seasons at Arsenal where he shared the Golden Boot — the trophy given to the Premier League’s leading scorer — in the 2018-19 season and was only one goal short of the award, won by Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, in the 2019-20 season.
He also scored twice in the FA Cup final in August 2020 to give Arsenal a 2-1 win over Chelsea and the club’s first trophy under Arteta.
Aubameyang’s performance levels have dipped since then and he scored 10 league goals last season, which proved difficult for him. In January, he was granted time away to visit his mother because she had health issues, and he missed games in the Premier League and FA Cup. He also had time out in April after contracting malaria.
Arsenal is in sixth place, two points behind fourth-placed West Ham going into the game at Emirates Stadium.
Aubameyang stripped of Arsenal captaincy, dropped for game
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Aubameyang stripped of Arsenal captaincy, dropped for game
- Aubameyang, Arsenal's highest-paid player, was also told he would not be considered for selection for EPL’s game against West Ham on Wednesday
- Arteta said it was a “really unpleasant situation" but the decision was taken in a bid to “build that trust and strong culture around the club”
Al-Qadsiah’s SPL match postponed as Damac clinch victory in relegation six-pointer
- Damac secure 3-0 victory against Al-Riyadh in Abha
- Al-Kholood vs. Al-Qadsiah postponed until March 7
DAMMAM: Much has changed since the conclusion of Matchday 24 in the Saudi Pro League last Saturday. Several nations across the Middle East have postponed their leagues indefinitely, with the war in the region even threatening West Asia’s participation across all levels of AFC competitions for the upcoming knockout stages.
The Saudi Pro League was one of the few to continue without pause, with Matchday 25 scheduled to kick off on Thursday as Damac welcomed Al-Riyadh and Al-Qadsiah travelled to Qassim to face Al-Kholood. Or, so Saudi Pro League fans thought.
Hours before Al-Kholood and Al-Qadsiah were set to kick off, the hosts announced that they had received a notification from the Saudi Pro League confirming their match was postponed Saturday, March 7, due to the cancellation of Al-Qadsiah’s flight to Qassim.
That meant that Thursday featured the sole encounter between Damac and Al-Riyadh, with Friday and Saturday set to host four matches each.
Both Damac and Al-Riyadh have endured difficult seasons. They two sides were level on 16 points prior before the meeting in Abha, and both had suffered similar 1-0 defeats to Al-Ahli in recent weeks — matches in which each felt unlucky not to come away with at least a point.
That said, it was Damac who controlled proceedings for most of the evening. Mauricio Dulac set the visitors up in their traditional 5-4-1, with Mamadou Sylla leading the line.
Damac, meanwhile, looked to break them down centrally, operating in a 4-3-1-2 that gave Valentín Vada freedom behind Yakou Méïté and Mohammad Al-Salkhadi. They were aided by Jonathan Okita’s dangerous runs from deep, which ultimately changed the course of the match.
After initial attempts to find the in-form Méïté in the air through a series of crosses, Damac shifted their focus to one of their other strengths: attacking through the middle.
A calculated long ball from Jamal Harkass found Okita breaking into the space in the Al-Riyadh defence, as the Congolese midfielder controlled the ball with a fine touch before firing past Milan Borjan in 35th minute.
Damac extended their dominance after the interval. In the 53rd minute, another Harkass long ball created danger — this time with Méïté holding the ball up before Al-Salkhadi threaded a pass through to Vada, who calmly finished to double the lead.
At the hour mark, Sanousi Al-Hawsawi effectively sealed the match as he met Abdulrahman Al-Obaid’s corner with a towering header, giving Damac a crucial victory and lifting them three points away from the relegation zone.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hilal hosting Al-Najma, Al-Khaleej facing Al-Hazem, Al-Taawoun taking on Al-Fateh, and the Sea Derby between Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad kicking off at 10:00pm.
