Arsenal: Mikel Arteta praised for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang decision

Aubameyang joined Barcelona on a free transfer after falling out of favor under the Spaniard.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta handled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s situation ‘magnificently well’, according to ex-Premier League coach Sam Allardyce.

Despite Aubameyang being Arsenal’s top earner on a reported £350,000-a-week salary, Arteta stripped the Gabonese striker of the club’s captaincy and dropped him for a ‘disciplinary breach’ in December.

The Gunners boss then allowed him to join Barcelona a month later on a free transfer.

🗣 "It ended up the best possible way for everybody."

Mikel Arteta believes that the decision for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave the club was the best for all parties pic.twitter.com/aLhmO7mqid

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 9, 2022

‘He dealt with that magnificently well’

Now Allardyce has praised Arteta’s hardline stance against Aubameyang, as well as the coach’s progress at the Emirates.

“Arsenal are a good young team who seem to be improving all the time,” the ex-England boss told Ladbrokes.

“Mikel Arteta has faced so many challenges in such a short time as a manager, and he’s dealt with them head-on. He’s decided that he’s going to be strong, which you have to admire; I certainly admire him for that.

“He’s had a lot of big, senior players who haven’t been pulling their weight, and personally I think he’s dealt with those situations very well.

“Aubameyang, in particular, was the most recent example. That incident showed everyone at the football club that it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter how big you think you are – if you’ve been honored with the captain’s armband for a club like Arsenal, to disrespect that, to disrespect the manager, and to disrespect Arsenal Football Club, I can’t sympathize with how Arteta deals with you.

“He dealt with that magnificently well, because it shows the rest of the team that there’s a certain level of expectation when it comes to discipline, and if you’re not going to adhere to that, you’re gone.”