Are Arsenal forcing Auba out just to save money, like we did with Ozil?

According to several sources Arsenal are offering Aubameyang to clubs.

It’s yet another January where the priority seems to be slashing the wage bill, bearing in mind that Lacazette and Nketiah are free agents this summer.

I have often questioned the ambition of the Kroenke Family, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect their business acumen.

To have a company not meeting their targets while saving money and having customers think progress is being made, takes some doing.

That’s why they hired Arteta.

Any big-name manager wouldn’t tolerate every winter window the focus being on cost cutting, yet a rookie boss will tolerate his employers’ limitations for the sake of having a high paid job.

This time last year we essentially paid Ozil to rip up his contract having spent months trying to force him to leave.

That was despite our manager being adamant that the German’s attitude in training was not an issue.

The Gunners never replaced his creativity and went on to fail to qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years.

Our owners had managed the feat of making money while the team failed, yet got a section of our fanbase to think this was a good thing.

Well, things change yet stay the same.

Auba is like Ozil in that he’s a talent over 30 who we have paid over the odds to stay. Nobody forced his employers to offer the salary they did, but like with Ozil, they seem to regret doing so and now want to make him as miserable as possible in a bid to make him quit.

No one at the club has confirmed what our ex-skipper did wrong, but it’s bad enough not to be included in our last 6 squads.

In comparison Lukaku was dropped for one game for publicly disrespecting Chelsea, a situation the Blues fixed within days.

Apparently if you’re a Gooner, you’re just meant to accept talents being discarded without explanation?

It seems okay to wash your hands of talent if it means saving money.

Our coach it seems, who’s strength is meant to be his 1 on 1 teaching, isn’t expected to get the best out of the resources available to him.

We are going to sell Auba on the cheap without any clarification, and are just meant to not question it.

And guess what? Some fans will not question it!

It’s genius work from Stan and Josh to, instead of trying to give us the best possible chance of finishing 4th, again the priority is their overheads, and yet you got your customers believing everything is okay.

Why do I sense that when we fail to qualify for the Champions League, we will have a summer of being told how good these youngsters could be?

Instead imagine how much better we could be if Arteta worked with his main striker on the training pitch, or used man management techniques to get him confident.

Isn’t that the Spaniard’s job?

If our former skipper has committed a sin which makes his position in North London untenable then tell us.

If not, then I have to assume this is the club choosing to prioritize finances over what’s best for on the pitch.

What have we seen in the last few weeks to suggest we will be better without Auba?

Eddie was brought on for him at Old Trafford when we needed a goal and did nothing.

Auba was on the bench at Goodison, and we lost.

We beat Saints and West Ham at home and Leeds and Norwich away, and that’s enough to convince some we are good enough to wash our hands of Aubameyang?

That’s not to say Auba shouldn’t have been dropped.

It was noticeable that his work rate wasn’t good enough, and that for whatever reason he’s lost his smile.

Yet Laca and Eddie have 2 League goals from open play combined this season (both for Lacca) and both are free agents in the summer.

So there’s room for a happy Aubameyang. Surely that can only increase our chances of success this season.

It seems Arsenal are either unable or unwilling to make that happen.

Until they tell us what disciplinary policies that have been broken, we have to assume it’s the second one.

If a lack of firepower is the reason that we don’t finish in the top 4, and we are getting rid of our main striker just to save a few pennies, then we got every right to question that.

 

Be Kind in The Comments

Dan

THE JUST ARSENAL SHOW – Dan Smith has a rant over Arteta and ‘Players Welfare”

Tags Arteta Aubameyang Ozil

87 Comments

  1. I doubt if it’s a case of saving a few pennies and as Lukaku came out and apologised then that is fine and dandy if you’re a Chelsea fan. It’s not comparable to Auba in any shape or form.

  2. Arsenal actually didn’t save money by freezing and sending Ozil to Turkey. As reported by The Athletic, Arsenal paid more than 90% of Ozil’s old salary even though he played for Fenerbahce

    I bet Aubameyang will have the same stance with regard to his current salary. Willian is the only noble, humble and real man, who tore up his two-year agreement to join Corinthians

    Aubameyang definitely had disciplinary issues and he didn’t seem to have enough stamina to press for more than forty minutes. EPL is intense physically, so the big team should have fit players

    1. Why do you feel Willian was the only REAL man?
      He said he was unhappy after a few games, but didn’t leave until he had pocketed quite a bit of “loose change” did he.

      By your thinking, are you condemning the club for not sticking to the contracts that they willingly entered into?

      1. Because Willian could’ve stayed to collect his remaining salary and limited Arsenal from signing another non-homegrown player for two years, yet he chose not to do that. Walking away from millions of pounds takes a huge cojones

        Arsenal’s actions on Ozil, Willian and Aubameyang can’t be condemned, because the club kept paying their salaries. Had there been a breach of contract, the players could’ve sued the club

        1. But you didn’t answer why he didn’t walk away earlier.
          Neither Ozil or Aubameyang have said they were unhappy and both were ready to play.

          Both Ozil and Aubemeyang were treated differently to Willian by the club and that’s wny, Ozil in particular, acted the way he did.
          It remains to be seen what Aubameyang’s reactions will be, considering he broke club rules, something Ozil never did.

              1. He said that and he was involved in the training sessions, but he wasn’t selected for the games

                Both Ozil and Aubameyang were not treated differently to Willian by the club. Ozil had been regressing for years prior to his exclusion, whereas Aubameyang was given one and half season to improve his performance

                Had Willian stayed for more than one season, he could’ve been excluded and collected his remaining salary for two years without having to break a sweat. But Willian chose not to do that

                1. If Ozil was regressing for years, why did MA select him up and until the covid outbreak?
                  You obviously spotted something that MA, UE and AW didn’t.. I congratulate you.

                  1. ken1945 I get that you are obsessed with Ozil, I was huge fan of him in his early years, but when Wenger granted him new 3 year huge contract I said this is a big mistake and it was obvious in the years to come. Ozil was done as a player, and that was proven when he went into Fenerbahce and flopped there too. Neither Emery nor Arteta wanted him, because he was the very definition of laziness, and his flair was not what it used to be, so he was half player. No one wants to get on the pitch with less than 11 players and thats it. Enough of Ozil, his salary was a mistake, that we did again with Willian and with Aubemeyang. And Willian is the only one to tear his contract and go where he will feel better, and would not stay just for the money. GAI is absolutely correct in his assessment.

    2. GAI- answer me these questions please- 1) If Aubamayang did not have the stamina to press for more than 40 minutes, why was he starting games?
      2) Who was responsible for the fitness of the player? He should be sacked immediately don’t you think?
      3) Why did Arteta continually select a player who was not match fit?
      4) Why was the team captain starting games when clearly not match fit ?
      5) Why was a player given the highest paid contract in the history of Arsenal and one of the largest in EPL history when it was proven he was never at the required fitness level?
      Looking forward to your replies

      1. 1) Maybe because Arsenal wanted to give him more chances as their FA Cup hero and the team leader

        2) The staffs and the player himself. A highly-paid footballer should’ve been able to maintain his condition and level

        3) The same as the first answer

        4) You surely like to ask the same questions

        5) Maybe because he was our FA Cup hero, most performing attacker and most popular striker at that time, before his performance dropped gradually

        Those are just my assumptions though. You need to ask Arsenal directly if you want the official statements from the club, otherwise you’re just wasting your time with me

        1. So GAI- your answers are that you don’t know. I agree you don’t know. How can you? Yet you send up posts that assumes you do.
          The simple question is this- Why did Arteta continually select a player who was not fit?
          The answer is just as simple- the player was match fit. As are all the team. No manager would ever select a player who did not have the required fitness levels.
          What you are suggesting is that Aubamayang could Iny maintain his fitness levels for 40 minutes which is absolutely ridiculous. If any player had that level of stamina they would likely not even be in the bench.

          1. Phil, this is a fan site, where any Arsenal fan is free to convey their assumptions, ideas, opinions or news. I always try to make constructive opinions and patiently wait for the slow progress, instead of spreading more negativity

            I’ve never intended to make my comments as facts, and any logical reader must’ve realized that none of the comments on this site was made by an Arsenal employee. This is why I always use “seem”, “I bet” or “as reported by” words, so I don’t mislead people

            1. As I said, any fan can convey his assumptions, ideas, opinions or news here. If you don’t like it, why don’t you make post your own opinion instead of attacking other people?

          2. Well we can all say that Lacazette has the stamina for 70 minutes, that’s when he usually is taken off, but during this 70 minutes he is running his socks off.

            I can’t honestly say the same for Auba when he is on the pitch. It certainly leaves the impression that he is preserving his energy to have it for the important runs, that should lead to goals. The problem is he stopped hitting the target even from 2 meters… but this is a different story.

    3. So paying 90 percent is less then paying 100?
      That was after months of trying to get him to agree to a pay off

      1. The Athletic said it was more than 90 percent. I’ll revise my comment: “Arsenal save very little money”

  3. While I agree with your comparison regarding Ozil and Aubemeyang, my thoughts differ from thereon in.

    It is crystal clear that, on many occasions, Aubameyang has broken club rules – Ozil did not and MA never said / claimed the he did.
    Of course, we do not have all the details and both parties are staying quite about what they are – as did Ozil and the club.

    I don’t believe we will ever know what the exact details were in either case, but one does have to ask why on earth such a ludicrous contract was offered so soon after seeing the damage a similar one caused, regarding the club’s finances.
    These two deals had to be sanctioned by kronkie himself, so your suggestion that he is not, financially, supporting the club, along with the money spent last summer, has to be questioned.

    My only conclusion is that MA, while building a very impressive squad, hadd pressure from above to sell Ozil and keep Aubameyang by using said money saved to keep another (same contract different name) because Ozil would not play ball with the pay cut scenario and asked too many questions about it.

    Then Aubemeyang started to flex his new found power and MA, quite rightly in my opinion, has disciplined him and realised that Lacazette has more than enough skill to cover his departure.
    The only piece of the jigsaw left, is to get Lacs to sign a new contract, or buy a ready made and very expensive replacement.

    1. Ken you couldn’t have said it any better.
      I’m not a fan of SK, but blaming him every single time is not the answer.
      He’s not even in charge anymore and had left the running of Arsenal to his son.
      Now we all know Josh, unlike his father, he’s doing so well and constantly trying to reconnect the club and the fanbase. He brought in Arteta and Edu, wfo despite both rookies, and despite the fact they’ve made a lot of mistakes. (Expectedly since they were rookies) they’ve rebuilt the connection between the fanbase and team.
      I can’t recall when last we saw this love, passion and friendship between the players, club and the fans. it seems so far, Josh is doing a good job.
      These set of players are not the types that were giving constant interviews talking about how they intend to do this and that. They do their talking on the pitch, and unlike the previous set, they defend each other a lot.
      The only letdown, like I said is the fact that the club’s trying to hide it under disciplinary issues for Auba.
      If they want a new and more effective striker, nobody will question then for letting go of Auba. Just don’t pretend you’re letting him go because he broke some rules.

      1. Eddie- as with Ken you have stated the obvious. Why Kronke is being held accountable when all he has ever done is back EVERY manager he has had since taking control is wrong.

    2. Totally correct Ken. And why Ozil is continually brought into these discussions never fails to amaze me.

    3. “No one at the club has confirmed what our ex-skipper did wrong, but it’s bad enough not to be included in our last 6 squads.”

      “Until they tell us what disciplinary policies that have been broken, we have to assume it’s the second one.”

      As part of management studies I have always been told that recognise/appreciate publicly and discipline/reprimand in private.
      As coach of ManU Jose spoke about some individuals, there performance and attitude and he lost entire dressing room, even those with whom he was happy.

      Auba’s issue is Human Resource matter.. Why should an organization discuss disciplinary matter publicly.
      How many of us want that when something unwanted happens between us/friends/family and respective organization working at, the organization publicly discuss the matter and share with all others in organization.
      However in this case we fans demand that Arsenal (Organization ) publicly informs the issue(s) due to which actions have been taken against the employee (Auba). What good will come out of not following fair employee handling process.

  4. Dan as long as it’s you, you’ll always take the piss at Kroenke.
    It’s not even hidden anymore that you’d criticize Kroenke any little chance you get.
    First of the why don’t you let go of the Ozil debacle?
    He did fvck all in his last two seasons.
    He declined early as a player, and there’s no shame in that.
    When will you accept the truth that Ozil had declined a lot and wasn’t the player we signed?

    When will some of you accept the fact that Auba is on the decline too?
    We all know what Auba is capable of and the player he was, but with age comes declining, tiredness and lack of energy one had as a younger soul.
    Auba clearly since last season hasn’t been himself, we can say he’s on the decline too.
    The club should’nt have made use of his disciplinary issues as an excuse to sell him. That’s one thing I can support. The club shouldn’t be doing that, but still Auba was one of the players we needed to replace.
    We’ve been doing so much better without him, scoring goals and all.
    Before he signed his contract, a whole lot of folks on here saw this coming and they were against trying to keep him with a bumper contract. Some even mentioned it might turn into another Ozil situation.

    *Ding ding ding* Round Two!
    Guess who’s in another Ozil situation now? Auba and the club.
    Not everything has to be about saving money and pleasing the Kroenke.
    You always make it seem like everything the club and manager did was to please Kroenke.
    As a manager, why the hell would I bench someone if I consider them my best player, why the hell would I bench them to please my boss when I know my boss will cut me off if I don’t bring him a good result?
    The same good result that according to you, would’ve been achievable with the best player I’m benching.
    Make it make sense please.
    We all know Kroenke is a greedy man, and he ran the club poorly, but since Josh took over. He’s been doing everything to build the club back.
    Drop this Kroenke attack every time please.

    1. Well thought and well written. For some, every step Mikel takes there lies some or the other fault. Football performance is about skill and passion/motivation. You are bang average without either or both. Leno – Ramsdale, Tomiyasu- Bellerin, Tavares – Kolasinac, Sambi – Elneny are fine examples of the club progressing from mediocrity to good, trust Mikel to hire someone good. Yes, Edu/Mikel did make some strange decisions – Runar, Willian, Cedric, Marri, but they have bot costed us that much as Wenger’s senile decisions have.

    2. Dude you write this like it’s a secret I don’t like Koronke
      I will openly admit as an owner he’s done a terrible job as we have regressed
      Ozil didn’t play for us last season and we finished 8th !
      That’s the point you miss
      A manager either gets the best out of his resources or gets better

      1. Exactly Dan you don’t like him.
        You don’t like him, and it’s no secret so you criticize him every fooking time.
        It’s tiring.
        Your point about Ozil being?
        You talk about him like he was terrorising defenses and he was very good in his last two seasons.
        That’s the point you miss.

          1. the club had been failing for years before KSE took over.
            Wenger papered over the cracks with getting top 4 consistently.

            Since They removed Wenger ( and that is what the did) they have invested heavily, tried a proven coach, that didnt work so they got shot quickly.

            Got MA in, went through all this COVID crap which hit every club financially and still managed to back the manager in 2 summer windows with over 200m.

            Since they came in, they have restructured the whole club, invested heavily and laid down a foundation for future success with youth.

            The trouble is with people like you is that you dont look at the whole picture.
            Half the ppl who come on this site have blinkers on ffs ( not saying you, just in general)
            and just dont know the facts

            ppl think KSE owned the club since 2006 no they did not.

            Ppl think teh manager is the 1 person responsible for contract negotiations – NO they are not – even Wenger didnt do that.

            1. If you look where we were when he first had power on the board to where we are now , it’s been a disaster

              1. @Dan Smith
                While I agree with this, what Kroenkes are doing in the last 2 seasons is the correct thing to do, and if Mikel Arteta proves to be the right man (which he obviously has the potential to be), we will be in a much much better state in the years to come.

                If you don’t agree with that just think for a second, how long ago Sir Alex Ferguson left United, and where they are now. Wenger left what .. 3 years now? And we are already rebuilding the team and there is light in the tunnel.

    3. Eddie- I read somewhere that the club studied the form and fitness of Jamie Vardy when considering the contract offered to Aubamayang. Vardy was continuing with both at an age when most players were showing signs of a decline in both these aspects. Yet if that was the yardstick they used it was flawed. Vardy is now showing he was not the player he was. He is picking up more injuries, is benched on occasions, and scores less than he previously did. The club got this very badly wrong and as with the Ozil contract, have proved Wenger was correct in ever extending contracts of over one year to players over thirty.
      Auba single-handedly won us the FA Cup in 2020 and thought he could get the contract he was demanding because we were unable to go forward without him. Yet Arteta, by default , has found a system that suits the team so much better with the player left out.
      I will never blame the player. As with Ozil, the player asked for what he thought his value to the cub was to stay. In both cases it is proven the club made the wrong decisiins

      1. Phil, to some extent I’ll say I understood why Ozil and Auba got the contract.
        At the point they both got it, they were very important to the team and they were delivering.
        So I guess maybe that could be said?

        1. Yeah Eddie- at the time it seemed the right decision for both but ultimately was proven wrong. But at the age both players were at its always a gamble and both were bets that were lost very heavily

    4. If he was on the decline as you pointed out, why would any sensible manager make such an irrational decision to award him a bumper contract? Josh or Stan or whoever up in the hierarchy is responsible, ultimately do not make decisions without the person who knows the player best and can vouche for him, i.e. MA. He is the person responsible for a player’s performance review to assist Josh & Co to put their final stamp of approval on whatever deal is finally negotiated.
      This is not a strange decision, but as happened in so many other cases, its poor management. None of us would tolerate or otherwise be continuously sympathetic towards decisions made by bosses in our own workplace that affect our personal well-being or reflect badly on the organisation. Yet, as Arsenal fans we keep making up excuses instead of looking at the facts and calling it for what it is.

  5. No, Not for me – this is not a penny pinching scheme to get Auba off the books.

    Honestly, have you not watched Auba for the past 18 months or so?

    He’s lost about 4-5yrds of pace, he was never a ”baller” he doesnt work hard for the team, ” yea but he runs and presses ” – like hell he does, his pressing is nothing more than making it look like hes working hard for the team.

    His a disruptive influence on the team, and this happened at Dortmund aswel to get his then ” dream move” to us

    If you cant see that how the team plays without him is 100% an improvement then i really dont know what to say to you.

    Auba is now a chump best to get rid now.
    And its not like he hasnt had his chances to impress on the field – many of the fan base last season said we should play laca ahead of him as he brings more players in to the play.

    the guy has been an avg player at best since he signed his new OP contract and i would honestly give him a 5/10 for the past 18 months or so – not good enough in my book – Henry at his age can probably do better

    1. So Val- bearing in mind the size or the contract the player is on, who should be held accountable for this? Arteta that’s who.
      The manager should never have been given the power to agree this. It’s cost this club millions of pounds that we do not have (as with nearly every club worldwide) and yet he seems to completely disregard this huge mistake.
      I agree Aubamayang has not been the player he was when he first arrived. Yet Arteta continually selected him? Why? Martinelli was there, and look how much the team dynamics have changed since he replaced Aubamayang. Pepe was available and would have slotted easily into the left side in attack. Yet Arteta did not do this did he? He continued to select a player that was not performing. You just have to ask why!!!

      1. MA did not give Auba the deal.

        There are are lots of things the club had to address at that time and with who else to bring in and could we have replaced Aubas goals at a low cost? the answer is no – taking out hindsight.

        Martinelli wasnt ready at that time, although he was exciting to watch he was very raw and unproductive with how he pressed as a team, he is much better at that now and is showing it.

        at the end of the day, what the team needs far outwieghs the need of a player, if you dont fit in you go

        1. clueless nonsense Val…do you honestly believe there’s no logical connection between how Auba helped MA secure a rather fortuitous FA, his subsequent re-upping, MA getting the managerial title without the requisite experience that normally requires and MA’s misguided attempt to “retool” instead of “rebuild”??? whom do you think ownership gave credit to for the Auba re-upping???? recency bias much!!! btw none of the players would back your notion that Auba has lost a couple steps from a pace perspective, as you would suggest…how would we even know considering our predominantly sideways possession-based offensive tactics since his re-upping…I bet you if you asked PL defenders if they were still worried about his ability to outpace them if we chose a more direct approach, they’re would be a overwhelmingly one-sided affirmative consensus

      2. I think arteta kept picking him because he was trying to give auba the chance to adapt and to play himself back into form. Even if the tactics aren’t a good fit for him,a younger and more motivated auba would surely have found a way to play well in this system, at least most of the time, but it wasn’t to be. For whatever reason, he’s not performing and it’s finally hit the point where we have to find alternatives
        Laca has been performing well during all the time auba has been so poor – I’m more annoyed at how laca has been treated frankly.

  6. No, I do not consider Auba will be sold to save money, just as Ozil wasn’t, not that he has anything to do with the Auba situation. Club rules have apparently been broken on more than one occasion as they were at his last club. Fortunately during his removal from the squad we seem to have found a more dynamic style of play, creating more chances, with the team seemingly to gel together better. I love Auba and would hate to see him leave but unfortunately he doesn’t seem to fit in to our current style, albeit having lost his goal scoring mojo.

  7. So many aspersions and conspiracy theories but so few facts in this article. Ozil Ramsey Sanchez Mustafi Socritis Mkhitarian Willian did not rip up their contracts. Arsenal paid them their full salaries to leave. Arsenal still has a slew of players nobody will buy at even close to what Arsenal want for them like Leno Mari Holding Bellerin Chambers Cedric Elneny Aubameyang Pepe Guendouzie Torreira Kolasinac Nketiah Laca Niles Nelson and Mavropanos.
    Arteta meanwhile trusts just 12 players. The new six and Gabriel Partey Xhaka ESR Saka and Martinelli. The rest are surplus to requirements but their ridiculous high paid long term contracts means Arsenal can’t get rid of them for love or money. it will take two more years to get the lean mean machine Arteta desires but we can see what he is trying to do. One final point Kroenke did not pay for any of the summer signings. Kroenke has never invested one penny in the club and nor did the club ever invisage that he would.

        1. What’s that got to do with it?
          All the sponsorship money, the media money etc etc goes to the club….. that belong to Stanley Kronkie.

  8. Let’s be honest here ,the way he’s been treated is pretty disgusting
    Arteta couldn’t wait to get the story out in the press then goes all mysterious and not a single explanation given since .
    If hes done something so bad to warrant him being out on the transfer market then man up and tell us ,because to me it looks like what Dan says that the club want him off the books to save money but all they have done is come out looking like total amateurs which was the case for Ozil as well , not very classy IMO .
    His poor form also coincides with Arteta arrival so blame must also be pointed towards him and not being able to get him back to his best .

    1. His poor form also coincided with him getting older and clearly losing his pace. Arteta played him continuously for over 12 months during this loss of form – any other player would have been dropped ages ago, so you can’t accuse Arteta of having an agenda against him. Ma has been desperate to play Auba back into form and it hasn’t worked.
      The most you can say is that auba doesn’t fit with artetas tactical setup, but that doesn’t explain why he can’t score from 2 yards anymore, let alone why he almost *never* finds himself in 1v1 positions or why he cant score from outside the box, as he used to do regularly.
      He’s not a top level player anymore and his confidence is gone – best for everyone that he moves on

    2. Differing views will continue to abound, but to blame Arteta for the impact of age on the ability of Auba to perform like he did in his prime is nonsense and totally unfair.As for the dreaded Ozil, just what has he achieved on the field of play during the past 3 years?The anti Kronke and Arteta brigade seem incapable of clearing their minds of the errors of the past, at a time when any decent minded supporter of Arsenal will recognise the progress being made in making us a force in the land again.Perhaps the prospect of Arteta actually going on to be successful is something which they find unpalatable after all the vitriol they have directed towards him since his arrival.Like me, he is far from perfect then perhaps such high status is only held by those who regularly display their sarcasm and cynicism towards others.

      1. Phil, first of all, I should point out that I have openly criticised Arteta on numerous occasions, usually on the matter of team selection and tactics.With regard to who sanctioned the new contract granted to Auba, you are assuming the guilty party was Arteta, when you may be completely wrong.I suspect a number of our hierarchy were involved in the negotiations, but I think you are mistaken in your belief that our team Manager has the authority to make such a decision unilaterally.As for my lovechild, I am happy with my wife of 52 years, my 3 children, and seven wonderful grandchildren.Have a very good new year Phil.Despite our differences on JA, I hope you stay fit and well.

        1. Congrats on 52 years, kids and grandkids. I hope you all are well. That is so much more important the football.

      2. Sarcasm and cynicism towards other !
        You mean like you buddy ,do you know the amount of times I’ve seen you ask somebody what football knowledge they have to make them look stupid ?
        Someone else who doesn’t understand there isn’t a law that says other fans have to follow you’re opinion .
        I would reply to some of your answers if you weren’t so up your self .

      3. Huss Fahmy was the negotiator at that time
        Overall, the club make a decision if they want to keep or sell a player.

        if the manager says yes he wants to keep him, the club make a decision, then negotiate

        IT HAS FCUK ALL TO DO WITH THE MANAGER

        EVEN WENGER SAID HE WOULD NOT HAVE OFFERED OZIL THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO STAY

    3. big ups on multiple points DK…first regarding the public handling of this and previous Auba-related “issues”…last season, before the Spuds affair, he actually made a public statement to say that he wouldn’t be making a public statement…that was a passive aggressive wet dream…as for the question of “poor form”, some have mistakenly chalked this up to his advancing age, which is totally unfounded considering the fact that we have deployed a predominantly sideways possession-based tactical approach since his re-upping, which has rarely provided him with any opportunities to prove otherwise…as I stated in an earlier post, if you asked opposing defenders if they were still worried about being in a foot race with Auba, they would respond with a definitive yes, if they were being truly honest

  9. I’m very much of an opinion that Auba regrets signing da ting from day one and that affected his output.

    I don’t know why a top footballer with no major trophies to his name IN HIS 30S decides to stay at a club that won’t be able to give him a shot at winning the title or European competition.

    When he said he refused to go to a club where he could win trophies in order to become a club legend, I heard the sound of BS very strongly in my eardrums but didn’t want to read too much into it as I was super excited.

    Extending him was a mistake on both parts. He should have done a RVP and looked elsewhere for trophies. I hope he leaves in January and I hope he leaves to a club where he’ll actually win the league title or even a European trophy. I really do.

      1. And a good one too SueP, at this present time not so many, in the coming summer who knows

        I think it may have also been the case when he signed his new contract, he and his Agent were probably looking for and waiting for just that type of Club to take him, I reckon he himself was hoping for Barca at that time, there was a delay in signing but when no serious bid was offered he signed, nothing wrong with any of that by the way, all players have to consider their options before signing a new deal with the Club they are at and he was hot property at the time, now not so much

        I honestly don’t think he’s finished at Arsenal myself

        1. Interesting final point FF
          It currently looks pretty terminal to me. Training alone doesn’t suggest a return to the first team. Maybe the AFCON tournament may lessen whatever is going on behind the scenes and a rapprochement but as the youngsters are staking a claim, I feel that Auba’s days are numbered

          1. It’s just a feeling I have SueP, no more, but based on a few things

            Arteta clearly like Auba as a player, won the FA Cup for him (not single handedly as some might say), was full square behind him signing the new deal just after that, made him captain and has picked him regularly despite him not doing the bizzo both last season and this. Joint 2nd top goalscorer across all competitions this season (ESR 9 in 21, Saka 7 in 22, Auba 7 in 14), same amount of League goals as Kane and only one less than Lukaku, I just don’t think he’s a busted flush yet

            Add to that up front alternatives at the moment, Laca and Eddie potential movers in January because of their contract situations and Balogun not looking the part so could go on loan

            They may have fallen out but I don’t think Arteta would cut off his nose to spite his face, he may not be able to afford to but that ball is probably in Auba’s court rather than his anyway and I would use the same phrase for him, why would he go now when he is more likely to get a better offer in the summer

            But you are probably right, the writing is on the wall

  10. Whatever ever be the reason,i think dropping him has been the best thing to have happened to the team this season&long may it continue…

  11. Couldnt agree with you more Dan. Excellent article, to the point. Finance is prioritised over success. The owner is happy and that is the end of the story. No questions asked, no answers given.

  12. How?
    KSE have invested heavily since they took full control in 2018.

    If you breach conditions in the workplace, you get punished one way or another or lose your job if it continues.

    When MA took over, he stiffened up the team, made us very defensive – which left space to counter – Auba great at this at that time as he still had some pace, this style suited him, as Did Wenger and Emery’s style as it was alot gung ho, which created alot of space for Auba to work in, well i mean run in.

    We dont play like that anymore, we play more possession based and want to overload the attacking areas of the pitch – you cannot do this with Auba, he cant hold the ball up, is terrible in the air and is as slow to do anything as Per mertasacker was.

    Everyone says it was the contract, it was this, it was that as to why hes playing crap – No

    Our team and squad has just evolved past him.
    Lac is a better fit for our team as he can hold the ball up, press with purpose and do all things Auba cant, he allows other to play.

  13. Top post Val, it’s about style of play and Auba hasn’t adapted well so far which has possibly led to the loss of confidence in front of goal

    He will never be a player like Laca and Laca will never be a player like him but I believe that Auba still has something offer to Arteta’s squad this season

  14. I wouldn’t write Aubameyang of so quickly. yes hes been out of form and dropping him was inevitable, but hes a goal scorer and when in form hes the one player you want in front of goal. Could of Arteta handled the situation better – could argue yes (lukaku – Tuchel situation for example). I never thought he should have been captain in my opinion. Hopefully he gets his head down and focuses on the AFCON and comes back with a clear head.

  15. I am sure there some Management Accounts among the fan base. A study of recent published accounts show that Arsenal have made considerable losses. Fair Play Rules are complicated, but in a nutshell losses above a certain level must be covered by the owner. It is wrong to say Kroenke has not put his money into the club as he has made recent transactions which have improved the financial position of the club. I also believe we spent £150 million in the summer I wonder where that came from.

    1. @patH. Wonder no more. The same place the repayments on the stadium build came from.
      In the year 2,000 Arsenal committed to paying back the bank loan at the rate of 30 million quid a year until 2031 a total of 930 million.

      1. Kroenke bought his first stake in 2007. In 2006, Arsenal loaned £260m in bonds to finance the move to the Emirates. The club has to pay annual instalments each year until 2031 and the next one is due September 1.
        Arsenal have already paid back a chunk of it but a long-term £144m debt remains. The Arsenal Supporters Trust say debt service costs do not exceed £20m a year including both repayment and interest. Anyway it’s totally immaterial Kroenke owns the club and can, as long as he obeys the financial rules,do as he see fit and like it or not that’s the reality of the situation.

        1. Absolutely correct patH – ozziegunner has warned about the kronkie’s turning the Emirates into a shopping mall if they wanted too – they own every last brick.
          Ask any individual who was lucky enough to own a share – FORCED to sell it to Silent Stan

  16. Clearly there were things happeneing behind the scenes in both situations. what we know is that auba was strippped of captaincy for too many club offenses. Obviously you can still be part of the squad, so Auba not playing again is a decision he has made likely along with Arteta. Ozil, we know it’s a long laundry list of different reasons. Saving money was a factor because this man was simply not producing for the club, and his interests obviously lied in many different places instead of Arsenal. Either way the bottom line seems to be that both of these players had different priorities other than playing football for us, so Arteta is sending these kind of players on their way.

  17. Needless to say given my long time views on Ozil and Auba and ALL PLAYERS who refuse to work as all players should, flat out, I dismiss this article as sheer nonsense.

    It is completely wrong heded from beginning to end. My view for all my long adult life has been and will always remain, that ANY player, no matter whom, who refuses to give 100% effort the whole time, needs to be got our of our club as fast as humanly possible.

    Despite Dans absurd nonsense when he claims “what have we seen in the last few weeks to suggest we will be better off without Auba”, when ALL the evidence of our mountain of goals since he was dropped gives the lie to DANS LUDICROUS STATEMENT, I doubt many Gooners at all will not be glad to see the back of unmotivated, team letting down Auba.

    I d like him gone, TODAY were it possible, never to return. I APPLAUD MA for sidelining him and finally – albeit much too late in my view – trying his best to get this idle, self centred, non scoring failure, gone from our club ASAP!

    HAD HE BEEN DROPPED FOR MARTINELLI, FAR EARLIER, AS WE ALL KNOW HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN, WE WOULD HAVE MANY POINTS MORE RIGHT NOW THAN WE HAVE .

    1. Absolutely correct patH – ozziegunner has warned about the kronkie’s turning the Emirates into a shopping mall if they wanted too – they own every last brick.
      Ask any individual who was lucky enough to own a share – FORCED to sell it to Silent Stan.

      Jon – yet you want Lacazette to go because you class him in the same way as Aubameyang (on the field).
      So where are these “mountain of goals” being produced from and if Lacs goes, what /who do you propose will happen?

      1. Untrue once again KEN. I never said Laca was anything like Auba. What I DID say was that we need a better striker than LACA but I also recognised it was probably not going to happen this month, though I hoped it would happen.

        SUCH A LOW TRICK TO CONSTANTLY MISQUOTE ME AND MAKE MY COMMENTS LOOK WRONG.

        PERHAPS I SHOULD DO THE SAME LOW TRICK TO YOU AND SEE HOW YOU LIKE YOUR POSTS BEING LIED ABOUT!

    2. You could play Martinelli and Auba ?
      What’s wrong with exspecting a manager to improve a player
      We lost to Everton and Man City ?

    3. Mr Jon Fox let me address you on a personal level. Be thankful brother. Appreciate life. Tone down the bile. There is a time for everything. There is a time for rising and a time for decline.
      Auba’s capabilities are immeasurable, his record speaks volumes.
      .,.. .Why rile readers up against Auba in his crucial time of need for support? He is not a failure as you put it but a hero. Auba has done nothing wrong that you know of. Lastly, he is not perfect and neither are you.

      1. Are you a supporter of our club? Or of a particular player BEFORE the club? Which is it?
        I make no apology for supporting our club and for wishing anyone that harms it gone .
        HENCE MY AUBA COMMENT!
        I stand by every word, because I support the club first, second and always! Perhaps you might like to try it sometime, when your odd love for idle Auba is under control ,IF it ever is!

  18. excellent article.

    it could of been as easy as saying something like:

    “auba is experiencing a difficult personal situation that is sometimes interfering with his commitments at Arsenal. Many fans across the world are experiencing a similar situation at home, it has been a difficult 2 years. We think it is best that we give the captaincy to another player to assist auba to focus on regaining his top form”

    simple solution. but instead confusing and still unresolved.

    i’m not sure i would link this back to the owners. they have spent a lot of money on salaries and transfers. by spend we should be top 4. arteta has made some excellent player decisions – ramsdale has been my personal fave – but he’s also made some very poor player decisions.

    we have been on a transfer roll. if we can flip auba for another striker it could prove a brilliant move. fingers crossed that happens.

    whatever happens i (we should all) expect a top 4 finish.

    there was another article talking about pundit comments comparing arteta to lampard. he said arteta like lampard has settled the team, made it younger, and revamped the squad, but like chelsea, arsenal will have to higher a more skilled manager to take them to next level.

  19. Dan,

    I really love if you could give the Kroenkes and MA another chance.

    The Kroenkes made terrible mistakes in the past but at last now there’s a clear strategy. In my view the only strategy that can allow Arsenal to compete with no budget limit clubs like Chelsea and Man City: Buy young talented players that will grow both skill wise and in value, and build a coherent team that fully adheres to the managers principle.

    In the past couple of years owners have adequately backed up this strategy, Arsenal being the highest investor in Europe last summer.

    Who could have predicted in September than in January Arsenal would be reasonably well positioned in the top 4 race, playing exciting attacking football and even being able to dominate Man City most of a game?

    We’re talking about a club that finished 8th twice in a row.

    As for Auba, a couple of weeks before the his late returning incident you posted a video called “has Auba lost his superpowers?” Essentially saying thanks for all the goals scored but it’s now time to say goodbye.
    None of us knows what really happened with Auba as we don’t work for Arsenal but in the 6 games he’s not been selected I would say the team played better than when he was in the starting eleven.

    I believe Edu and Arteta have been doing a good job despite their lack of experience. The club is in a much better position now than it was 2 years ago and I feel Arteta, Kroenkes and Edu deserve a bit of respect and credit when due.

  20. Lukaku was suspended for one game and now he is back on the fold after issueing an apology. Did Auba commit a Capital Crime to deserve such treatment? Why did the arrogant Perfectionist MA send him to the gallows? We cannot say MA is trying to kick him out to save Kroenke some bucks really. (Thats total bul***t). AFC is à big team with big money. Even if a fan complains a player is getting a a mammoth wage. The fan will not get anything back in discount in ticket buys (or anything else) if the player is sold or his contract is terminated. It is for this reason i highly recommend that Auba runs down his current contract like Mr. Mesut Ozil. The club needs to suffer the consequences of its actions accordingly. I would also appreciate it if Laca don’t sign a new contract in protest of his friend’s treatment.

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