Martin Keown has claimed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ‘won’t be playing’ for Mikel Arteta anymore after he was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy on Monday, as he told talkSPORT.
The Highbury legend stated that this ‘bold move’ by Arteta is possibly humiliating for the Arsenal striker.
On Saturday, Arteta first confirmed that Aubameyang wasn’t part of his matchday squad that beat Southampton for a ‘disciplinary breach’.
Fast forward today, he is no longer the Arsenal skipper and he won’t be selected for his side’s clash against West Ham on Wednesday night, as the club told their supporters.
There is probably more to this than meets the eye because this is a bold and ruthless call by the Arsenal boss.
And Keown shared his honest thoughts on the matter after the news broke on Tuesday morning.
“It’s a bold move from the manager,” said Keown. “I did feel that this might be left to the summer and it would be too disruptive to do something like that now.
“We have to put trust in the manager and hope this doesn’t affect the group too much – I would like to know the full facts that’s why I trust the manager.
“From a judgment point of view, I would have left it till the summer. I think it’s too disruptive now. No, it’s not (too late by then). We make the change in the summer. But that’s what I called a bold move.
“But are we not losing the player now? Is it humiliation for the player? How do we get the player back? It’s not going to take some time (for him to recover). He will be playing for himself. He won’t be playing for the manager.”
This has to be the end of the road for Aubameyang as an Arsenal player because he simply can’t continue on after this.
The January transfer window is around the corner and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he leaves, or attempts to head for the exit door.
Plus, it’s not like he is wowing the supporters with his performances because when an out-of-contract academy player is coming on after you when you are trying to win a game, then that says it all.
Aubameyang’s performances haven’t been an issue just this season, but ever since he penned down to a new contract.
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