‘What a start’: Lineker lauds star Arsenal have axed

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta took a massive gamble in January.

The Spaniard had exiled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from first-team duties, having already stripped him of the captaincy, and then terminated his contract in North London.

There’s no denying that Aubameyang – who netted only four Premier League goals for Arsenal this season – was growing inconsistent.

But even still, this is a player who reached 50 goals for the Gunners quicker than a certain Thierry Henry, highlighting how devastating he can be in front of goal.

So to terminate his contract and let him leave North London on a free transfer was an enormous gamble – and it could well embarrass Arteta in a major way.

Aubameyang scored for Barcelona again last night as the Camp Nou outfit hammered Athletic Bilbao 4-0.

As a result, the 32-year-old striker has now netted five goals since leaving Arsenal – the same amount Arteta’s outfit have managed as a collective, which doesn’t reflect well on the Gunners manager.

Here’s how Gary Lineker reacted to the goal on Twitter:

If Arsenal qualify for the Champions League then it’ll prove that offloading Aubameyang hasn’t cost the Emirates Stadium outfit one iota, given that they’d have achieved their goal.

And although they’ve won all three Premier League outings since dumping the Gabonese hitman – who scored a hat-trick last weekend – they’ve all been by a one-goal margin.

However, if Arteta’s side finish fifth or lower, and Aubameyang continues to score from now until the end of the season, it’ll be such a rotten look for the former Manchester City assistant – particularly if his goals help Barca finish in La Liga’s top four instead.

Gabriel Magalhaes revealed this past weekend that he and his teammates ‘all wanted’ Aubameyang to stay at Arsenal [via Football London], claiming the rift only existed between the player and coaching staff.

So long as he remained popular inside the dressing room, perhaps the relationship between player and coach could’ve been salvaged at least until the end of the season because there’s no doubt that Arsenal with this Aubameyang had a better shot at finishing in the top four than without him.