January 2023 will mark one year to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s unfamous contract termination at Arsenal, but the Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta still hasn’t shied away from shedding light in the matter. Arteta has made new claims over the striker’s contract fiasco at the club dating back to January this year. After a fallout between the Arsenal captain and the manager, Aubameyang’s lucrative deal at the club was terminated with over a year still remaining on it.
Aubameyang then quickly signed for FC Barcelona as a free agent, wherein he netted an impressive 13 goals in 24 games in all competitions. However, he only enjoyed a six-month spell at the Catalan club, as returned to London with Chelsea this time during the summer transfer window. Although he only has one goal to show so far in six league gams for Arsenal’s rivals, Aubameyang is evidently enjoying his manager Graham Potter’s trust.
Arteta once again justifies Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang decision
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s farewell at the Emirates might have been an unpleasant one, but the striker will certainly go down as one of the important players in the history of the club. An Arsene Wenger signing from Borussia Dortmund, Aubameyang netted a stunning 92 goals in 163 appearances for the Gunners, leading them to FA Cup glory during the 19/20 season as well.
Arsenal and Arteta, happy with his output dished out a bumper £300,000-a-week contract extension to him in 2020 which would have kept until the summer of 2023. However, a disciplinary breach in December last year irked Arteta so much that he eve stripped-off Aubameyang of his captaincy and constantly left him out of the matchday squad. But Arsenal decided to play the hard-ball, as they terminated the 33-year-old’s contract with immediate effect. Explaining the decision to be a ‘strategic’ one, Arteta speaking on Sky Sports said:
“First of all, I didn’t take that decision, we took that decision as a club. Obviously, there’s my recommendation and what I feel that we need to do to get where we want. But I wouldn’t like to single out one player. I think it was with several players. It was part of the strategy of what we’re trying to build.
“At the end of the day, when you’re in that process and you want to go faster, there are people holding the boat [back] and putting weight on it. I’m sorry but we want to go even faster and there’s no time, whether it’s a player or a staff member, for someone damaging the club and we made that decision.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has now returned to the Premier League with Chelsea, after a short and successful stint at Barcelona. He has already come up against the Gunners in the league this season, however had no significant effect on the game as his new side Chelsea lost to the league leaders at home.
On the other hand, Arsenal are really going faster as claimed by Arteta, as they seem ahead of their timeline for the club’s progress as they sit atop of the Premier League, with a serious chance of winning it as well. A tough January now awaits Arteta and co as they face Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in the league, alongside Oxford United in the FA Cup 3rd round.