Martin Keown has warned Mikel Arteta that he could lose the respect of his Arsenal players if he does not take swift and decisive action regarding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gunners posted a stinker of a performance on Saturday by losing 3-0 to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
Yes, they’re the Premier League champions, but Arsenal barely even showed up and Arteta admitted afterwards that the scoreline flattered his side, insisting they should’ve lost by a greater margin.
Aubameyang, who captained the North Londoners, only managed 38 touches and failed to muster a single shot, which sums up Arsenal’s woes when he’s your biggest goal threat.
The 31-year-old hitman was dropped for the North London derby win over Spurs last month, having arrived late.
And Keown has told The Mail that Aubameyang deserves to be axed from the first XI yet again, arguing it’s time for someone like Gabriel Martinelli to get a rare chance to impress.
He said: “Should Arteta not be dropping him for performing as poorly as he did against Liverpool? If he sticks with him, he risks losing the respect of the group. It’s time to bring in 19-year-old Gabriel Martinelli. He is too good to be sitting on the bench. His team-mates see him in training and know what he can do.”
Let’s be honest, Aubameyang had a shocker on Saturday but he’s still Arsenal’s most dangerous attacking player by a million miles.
Yes, he’s a little off form and has been all season more or less, but he’s the same player who almost single-handedly won the FA Cup for Arteta last term, scoring all four goals in their semi-final and final wins over Manchester City and Chelsea respectively.
Aubameyang’s teammates know how devastating he is and if Keown thinks that the Spaniard would gain respect by dropping him, it may actually have the opposite effect.
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