Former Arsenal defender Sokratis has disagreed with Mikel Arteta’s decision to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January.
Speaking to the Sun, the Greek international revealed that the saga involving the former Gunners captain could have been resolved differently, with Aubameyang mutually terminating his contract at Arsenal before moving to FC Barcelona for free.
Sokratis is another player who has been on the receiving end of Arteta’s harsh treatment towards some Arsenal stars, with the former Borussia Dortmund star being left out of the 2019/20 squad and harshly playing under the Basque coach.
Indeed, the defender was also released for free as Sokratis joined Olympiakos, and for the centre-back, Arteta could have handled Aubameyang’s situation a lot better in January.
The defender said: “Aubameyang is not the only one who left this way from Arsenal, other players also left like that; including myself. That was the team’s choice, each footballer works for the team and has to respect that choice.
“I don’t know and personally I don’t think it was the correct choice, the matter could have been resolved differently. I’ve known Aubameyang for many years, I know what he can do as a footballer. I am certain of what he will do at Barcelona.”
Sokratis is right to criticise Arteta for Aubameyang episode
A £56m signing in 2018, Aubeyamang has been one of the best players for Arsenal in the current era of the club, and Sokratis’ comments on the former captain are more than justified towards Arteta.
Indeed, whilst there is no denying that the Arsenal manager was right in offloading Aubameyang, the episode could have played out differently had Arteta conducted himself better, something the coach seemingly hasn’t learnt from similar sagas involving Sokratis and Mesut Ozil.
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