Arsenal legend expects Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to lose captaincy over latest disciplinary breach
Arsenal legend expects Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to lose captaincy over latest disciplinary breach
Aubameyang misses out on Arsenal’s Southampton win
Despite Arsenal’s 3-0 win, the major talking point of the day was their decision to exclude Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the matchday squad.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta revealed that it was due to a disciplinary breach, but refused to comment further.
🗣 “Unfortunately due to a disciplinary breach.”
Mikel Arteta explains why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not in the Arsenal squad today pic.twitter.com/Je1cIvm5oA
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 11, 2021
It then emerged that it was due to a late return from a trip abroad, that due to COVID-19 protocols, meant that he couldn’t make the matchday squad.
🚨 EXCL: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dropped from Arsenal squad for late return from trip abroad last week. 32yo had permission to go for personal reasons but was back later than agreed & it had Covid protocol implications. W/ @gunnerblog @TheAthleticUK #AFC https://t.co/im7yEtRK7X
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) December 11, 2021
But what will the further implications be?
Martin Keown “expects” captaincy change in the near future
Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, Arsenal legend Martin Keown was quick to criticise Arsenal’s current club captain for his latest transgression. The former defender, who amassed 403 appearances for the Gunners between 1993 and 2004, was asked about the issue of Aubameyang, and claimed that he could well lose the club captaincy over it.
Keown suggested:
The captaincy is in question now.
“You can’t keep being late or disappearing on trips abroad and not coming back on time
“Your teams needs you and he’s not there when they need him the most. I’d expect that [the captaincy] to change now.’
Aubameyang was of course only made club captain after Granit Xhaka was stripped of the title in November 2019 after his antics in front of the Emirates crowd in their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
Should Aubameyang be stripped of the captain’s armband, will the Gunners finally be able to find a captain worthy of the role?
