Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opens up on leaving Arsenal after Mikel Arteta was 'killing me' – as he reveals the incident that changed their relationship

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has spoken out about his bitter exit from Arsenal after falling out with Mikel Arteta.

Aubameyang became a fans’ favourite at the Emirates after joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2018, and played a starring role as he led the Gunners to FA Cup glory in 2020.

He was named club captain and rewarded with a lucrative new contract shortly afterwards, but his final year at the club was a disaster as his relationship with Arteta swiftly deteriorated before he moved to Barcelona on a free transfer in January 2022.

The Gabonese striker has now opened on where things went wrong, and believes being late – and subsequently excluded from the matchday squad – for a north London derby against Tottenham in March 2021 was the beginning of the end.

‘There was a (traffic) accident near my home; maybe I should have set off earlier, but you don’t know what will happen,’ Aubameyang explained in an interview with The Athletic. ‘He was p***ed off as it’s a big game.

‘When we got to the hotel, he called me to his room and said I wasn’t going to play. He was strict. The rules are the rules. I felt hurt. I had tears because I wanted to play that game, badly. I didn’t want to hurt anybody. The next day we had a meeting and I stood up in front of everyone to say sorry. He also came to my house to speak, because he didn’t want this to be chaos.

Aubameyang’s relationship with Arteta swiftly deteriorated, leading to him leaving Arsenal in 2022

Aubameyang missed the north London derby with Tottenham in March 2021 – which Arsenal won 2-1 – after arriving late, and believes this changed his relationship with Arteta

‘I said, “It’s going to be OK”. But from then it was not the same.’

Nine months later, Aubameyang’s timekeeping came into focus again after he arrived back in the UK late following a sanctioned trip to France to see his unwell mother.

Aubameyang admits he did not tell the club that he was staying an extra night with his mum before returning to London, but revealed he refused to apologise on this occasion as he felt Arteta mishandled the situation.

‘I went directly to a team meeting. Everything was normal,’ Aubameyang said. ‘After that, he (Arteta) said, “Come with me”. This is where he started shouting. He said I could not do this because I was the captain and it was not acceptable.

‘He said I gave him a knife in his back; I don’t know why he said that. I was really p**sed off because it was not true and he knew why I flew. He knew the reason and what was happening, he knew I was struggling that year. I was expecting help from him, not killing me like this.

‘When I’m late, (and) it’s my fault — no problem. I always said sorry. But in this case, I’ll never say sorry. For taking my mum from Laval (his hometown in France) to London? No. Even if I came a day late, I would never say sorry. You understand or you don’t. If not, don’t give a day off or tell people they cannot fly.’

Aubameyang was subsequently banished from the first team during the busy Christmas period and did not return to the fold before Arsenal decided to let him go to Barcelona without receiving a fee.

He returned to face the Gunners when he signed for Chelsea in September 2022, but his time at Stamford Bridge did not go to plan and he was snapped up by Marseille after just one season.

The 35-year-old is now playing in Saudi Arabia after joining Al-Qadsiah in July.