Star who Arteta dumped could get him sacked as Arsenal boss – our view

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang already has his first hat-trick since leaving Arsenal in January.

Well, kind of.

The Gabon international scored twice for Barcelona in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over Valencia, but was also credited with their fourth of the afternoon after Pedri’s thunderous strike skimmed the back of his shirt and rifled into the net.

Nevertheless, it is officially a treble for the 32-year-old and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should be concerned.

That’s because if Aubameyang keeps scoring – and it’s entirely possible that he will – and if the Gunners’ lack of a striker ultimately costs them Champions League qualification come May, the Spanish coach could and possibly should find himself out of the job this summer.

Major mistake?

The former Borussia Dortmund marksman had his contract at the Emirates Stadium terminated in January over a discipline issue that Arteta presumably felt couldn’t be resolved, hence why he went.

The problem is, Arteta failed to sign a replacement and now Arsenal’s only two strikers are Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette, who have three Premier League goals between them this season.

Finishing in the top four has been Arsenal’s short-term ambition ever since Arsene Wenger left the club in the summer of 2018.

And if Arteta’s outfit do come up short, it’s more than likely going to be through a lack of goals, the like of which Aubameyang is probably going to score for fun over in Spain between now and May.

The Gunners might’ve reduced the wage bill by dumping Aubameyang, but they also massively reduced their chances of getting back into the Champions League next season.

Barcelona are now fourth in La Liga and if the legendary striker fires the Camp Nou club into Europe’s elite competition, and Arsenal miss out, well it’ll be a terrible reflection on Arteta and one that his superiors in North London might not overlook.