Mikel Arteta reportedly asked Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to run a lot more during Arsenal’s thumping by Manchester City on Sunday.
Arteta’s side suffered a 5-0 defeat away to the Premier League champions, who subjected the Gunners to a third-successive top-flight defeat.
Aubameyang, the Arsenal captain, barely had a kick in the first half and Granit Xhaka’s red card only isolated the Gabon international further.
According to BeIN Sports reporter Matt Critchley, Arteta personally asked the 32-year-old for more by way of work ethic at half time.
And Andy Gray has suggested that in itself is the problem among the North Londoners, claiming it’s a demand that Arteta shouldn’t have to ask of his most important player.
Gray told BeIN Sport: “When Matt Critchley came on and said Arteta was asking Aubameyang to run about a bit more and I’m thinking ‘Aubameyang shouldn’t be asked to run about a bit more – he should run a bit more.”
Inexcusable
As brilliant a goalscorer he is, Aubameyang does have a habit of completely disappearing if Arsenal, as a team, aren’t at the races.
And that was very much the case at the Etihad on Saturday.
Okay Xhaka’s red card didn’t help matters, but the former Borussia Dortmund hitman was still largely anonymous for the first 35 minutes and worse yet, his body language was questionable.
Instead of trying to close down the City players and pressure the ball, he was stationary and that’s one thing which will have infuriated the Spanish coach.
We’re talking about a player who earns £350,000 per week and a lack of work ethic is inexcusable, particularly if you’re not scoring goals.
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