Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has shed new light on the turbulence behind his Arsenal exit, and shared that he was accused by Mikel Arteta of ‘putting a knife in his back’ amid their toxic fallout.
The former captain had signed a new contract to stay at the Emirates 18 months prior to his February 2022 exit, but played his last match in red in December 2021 before being permanently sidelined by Arteta.
The manager is believed to have frozen out his star striker after he returned late from a pre-arranged trip, and as relations soured, Aubameyang mutually agreed the termination of his contract with the club, and booked a deadline day move to Barcelona.
Aubameyang spent the remainder of the season at the Camp Nou before an ill-fated single-season transfer to London rivals Chelsea at the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
But over two years later, the Gabon international was keen to stress that he had given permission for the the extended trip by his head coach, and that he ‘didn’t understand’ why Arteta had taken such a hard line with him.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (left) has opened up on his fateful falling-out with Mikel Arteta
18 months earlier, the pair had won the only major trophy of Arteta’s spell in charge, the FA Cup
But a delayed return from a sanctioned trip poured cold water on the pair’s close relationship
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‘It was during the COVID period and we were playing, I think, Everton,’ Aubameyang told Colinterview. ‘My season wasn’t great, we were struggling in the league and the day before the coach told us: “Look, it doesn’t matter if we win or not, you have a day off.
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‘The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution and not the problem’: Mikel Arteta hits back at Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the striker took aim at his old boss following his ugly Arsenal exit and move to Barcelona
‘”But if you want to leave, you notify yourself before the match because you have to follow the health safety rules.”
‘My mother a few months before had a stroke, it was going to be Christmas time so I went to see the coach and I said to him: “Coach, I’m coming to see you because I’d like to leave, I’m going to go pick up my mother to bring her back for the holidays.”
‘He tells me no problem.’
Due to the neccessity of strict Covid-19 protocols, Aubameyang was reportedly slightly delayed in his return to the Emirates – which prompted a tough response from his head coach.
‘I arrive, the coach finishes his meeting, and then he grabs me and completely tears into me,’ Aubemayang continued, ‘he shouts at me like I’m crazy.
‘He says: “You put a knife in my back. You can’t do that to me, given the times we’re going through.”
‘At that moment, I tell myself that I’m not going to answer him because it’s going to end angrily.
After Aubameyang’s exit, the Spanish manager claimed that he had been ‘the solution’ rather than the problem
The 34-year-old then moved to Barcelona for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign
‘I didn’t go partying. He knows very well the reason for my departure so at that moment I don’t understand why he is lecturing me like this. I go home and the doctor calls me and says “Tomorrow, the coach doesn’t want you to be there.”‘
‘The days pass and the doctor tells me: “Look, he doesn’t want you to be with the group anymore, but you will be able to come and train but separately.”
‘I say to myself OK… And then afterwards, he calls me and we have a meeting so he can explain to me that one, he’s taking away the captain’s armband, and two, I’m not training any more with the group.’
Ahead of his deadline day move, Aubameyang said that he had one final meeting with Arteta that saw the head coach share that he had been keen to use his former captain as an ‘example’ to the dressing room.
‘Once again, (Arteta) explains why he is against me during this period when it was complicated for the club,’ the 34-year-old added.
‘That I have to be an example and that I couldn’t do that. At that moment, I said, “I admit that I have my share of responsibility, but the real cause I think you can understand if you are a little bit human. You can understand my move.”
‘After that, it was over, I stayed for a month training on my own while waiting for the break.
In the wake of Aubameyang’s transfer, Arteta was keen to remain tight-lipped on the situation, but stressed that he saw himself as the ‘solution’ in the problematic relationship he had shared with his player.
‘I’m extremely grateful for what Auba has done at the club for his contribution since I have been here,’ Arteta said. ‘The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution not the problem.
‘I have been the solution. One hundred per cent. I can look in the eye of anybody. I do a lot of things wrong for sure but the intention all the time is the best and not for me, it’s for the club and for the team.’
After leaving Chelsea at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, Aubameyang booked a move to Marseille.
The move has seen the striker settle, and become the highest-scoring player in Europa League history after netting his 31st goal to break Radamel Falcao’s record.
