Six former Premier League stars have revealed what they think lies next for the Gunners skipper’s future.
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s conduct and future at the Emirates Stadium have come under question.
Shortly before the club’s 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday, Mikel Arteta revealed he omitted the Gabon international from his squad due to a disciplinary breach.
🗣 "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
The Arsenal manager’s announcement came only a day after Aubameyang missed a training session at the club’s London Colney base for unknown reasons.
Plenty has been said since Arteta’s announcement. While the exact reason for Aubameyang’s suspension remains undisclosed, these ex-Premier League stars have weighed in their opinions on what lies ahead for the forward’s future.
Chris Sutton
“The big question is, does Aubameyang have a future at Arsenal under Arteta?,” the ex-Blackburn and Chelsea striker said on BT Sport.
“It doesn’t look that way, it’s not a good example to set.”
Asked if he saw a way back for the 32-year-old, Sutton added: “Not while Mikel Arteta is there. There’s clearly a rift between the two parties and something has got to give. It will be interesting how this one will be resolved.”
Martin Keown
“The captaincy is in question now,” said the former Arsenal defender on BBC.
“You can’t keep being late or disappearing on trips abroad and not coming back on time. Your team needs you and he’s not there when they need him the most. I’d expect that [the captaincy] to change now.”
Tim Sherwood
“I think the manager is under huge pressure,” the former Tottenham manager said on Sky Sports.
“But what he can’t suffer is players throwing the toys out the pram and thinking because I’m sitting on the bench at Everton I can do whatever I want and not curb with the rest of the players. I think it is an absolute disgrace.”
Gabriel Agbonlahor
“When I played at Aston Villa, I gave up the captaincy. I was club captain, and I went on holiday during an international break and got caught smoking shisha,” said the ex-striker on GameDay: Your Verdict.
“As footballers, we’re meant to be robots who aren’t allowed to do anything. I got a lot of heat for that so I gave up the armband. Maybe that’s something Aubameyang needs to do.”
Paul Merson
Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Arsenal midfielder said: “It is a young team. There’s a lot of young players whose form is going to dip here and there. You know it’s not going to be consistent, but the problem is with the older experienced players – they aren’t good enough.”
Alan Shearer
“It’s unacceptable,” said the Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer of Aubameyang on BBC.
“For the second time for it to happen… once is not very good, for it to happen again and for his manager to come out and criticize him the way he did and tell everyone again he’s had to leave him out for those reasons, no, it’s not good enough.”
Conclusion
To sum everything up, the general opinion is that Aubameyang’s future as Arsenal captain may be over. It’s still perhaps a bit early to predict if he’ll leave in January. Until Arteta, the club, or the player himself release more details, all anybody can really do is guess for now.
The sixth-placed Gunners return to Premier League action on Wednesday at home to West Ham.
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