December 2nd 2024.
Mikel Arteta, the current manager of Arsenal, had a heated altercation with one of his former players from the team. Arteta felt betrayed by this player, who he believed had stabbed him in the back. To Arteta's dismay, this player then left Arsenal to join their Premier League rival, Chelsea, just a few months later.
The player in question was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had a turbulent four-year spell at Arsenal after being signed from Borussia Dortmund for a then-club-record fee of £56 million. Initially, Aubameyang had a great start with the team, scoring 31 goals in all competitions in his first season and even earning a share of the Premier League Golden Boot award.
However, things took a turn for the worse in the following seasons as Aubameyang fell out of favor with Arteta. The tensions between them came to a head in a north London derby in 2021, where Aubameyang was left out of the squad due to "disciplinary issues." These issues continued to arise, leading to Arteta stripping Aubameyang of his captaincy in December and eventually allowing him to leave the club a month later.
After leaving Arsenal, Aubameyang joined Barcelona on a free transfer. However, just nine months later, he made a shocking return to the Premier League, this time with Chelsea. By this point, Aubameyang's form had declined, and he only managed to score one goal in 15 league games for Chelsea before leaving. He is currently playing for Al Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League.
Looking back on his final months at Arsenal, Aubameyang revealed that he was surprised to be accused of disciplinary issues, as one of his absences was due to personal reasons. He explained that after returning from a trip, the coach called him into a meeting and berated him, accusing him of betraying him and the team.
Aubameyang also revealed that during this time, he was dealing with some personal issues and had not gone out partying as Arteta had wrongly assumed. Despite this, Arteta continued to criticize and lecture him, even though he was aware of the true reason for Aubameyang's absence.
The situation only worsened when Aubameyang attempted to force through a move to Barcelona by flying to Spain before a transfer agreement was in place. Arteta was once again against this decision, stating that Aubameyang needed to be an example for the team during this difficult period. However, Aubameyang felt that Arteta's reaction was unfair, considering the circumstances he was dealing with.
As a result, Aubameyang was left training on his own for a month before the transfer was finalized. He expressed how difficult this experience was for him and emphasized the importance of talking about mental health and seeking help when needed.
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