I have been seeing many comments from Just Arsenal readers that Arteta has ‘thrown our captain under a bus’ after explaining that Aubameyang was dropped for the game against Southampton because of a ‘disciplinary breach’, which is exactly what happened last year against Tottenham whe Auba was late for training.
So let’s start with the Cambridge definition of the saying……“To throw somebody under the bus”
informal
to do something harmful to someone else in order to gain an advantage for yourself:
He has been accused of throwing fellow Republicans under the bus for his personal agenda.
I’m not going to throw my friend under the bus for something he did 25 years ago.
Okay, so now let us look at the facts
The fact is that Arsenal must have a disciplined squad, and with the money the players are earning they should be able to stick to Arteta’s clear rules and any changes to the schedule must be discussed and agreed.
Auba broke those rules, so when Arteta was asked about Auba’s absence he simply said: “It was a disciplinary breach, and that’s why he was out of the squad.”
Please note that these notes are from Arsenal’s official transcript of Arteta’s conference.
So, the Boss was simply stating a fact when asked a fair question by the media, so now let’s look at the rest of his responses (as we all know that the media are relentless when they think they can get their teeth a story.
So, let’s look at Arteta’s further responses to their questions…..
on whether he remains captain…
Let’s talk about the game. I tried to explain why it was, and I did it frankly. I’m not going to say anything else, I’m going to focus on the performance and the quality that was on the pitch.
whether Aubameyang was available to play today….
I am really happy that we won 3-0, and we move onto the next one against West Ham.
whether he was worried it would have an effect on the squad…
I’ve said it in the press before – unfortunately it happened.
whether he expects more from the captain…
I expect from the team what I saw today, and I’m really happy with that.
on whether Aubameyang was at training yesterday…
Again, I cannot say anything else. Obviously I tried to explain the reasons why, and I couldn’t have done it in a different way – thank you for understanding.
on whether Auba is available for the West Ham game…
I explained what happened today and the reason why he wasn’t involved today, and that’s all I’m going to say.
So, there are the facts. Arteta clearly explained why Auba wasn’t playing and the avoided any further reference as far as he was able…
So, can someone please explain how Arteta could be described as “throwing Aubameyang under a bus”
I am seriously interested….
WATCH ARTETA’S FULL PRESS CONFERENCE HERE