Martin Keown claims that he expects Mikel Arteta to take a stand and remove Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the Arsenal captaincy.
The striker was dropped from the playing squad this weekend for a supposed disciplinary breach, with the team going on to win 3-0 against Southampton at the Emirates in his absence.
This wasn’t the first time that he has been dropped however, with Auba having been made to sit as an unused substitute as we beat Tottenham last season for supposedly turning up late on matchday.
Auba retained his captaincy after the previous incident, but Keown insists that he believes that will not be the case this time around.
‘The captaincy is in question now,’ Keown told Match of the Day followers (via the DailyMail).
‘You can’t keep being late or disappearing on trips abroad and not coming back on time.
Your teams needs you and he’s not there when they need him the most. I’d expect that [the captaincy] to change now.’
While I agree that Aubameyang should have the armband taken away, that decision could cause issues in the dressing room at one of the busiest times of the season.
Arteta has a big decision to make, but what is best for the squad in the long-term has to be the priority, and getting the team morale up currently is a struggle. If a new captain is needed to help bring that, then it needs to happen now, and as we’ve seen, we can win without Aubameyang. If he is a problem, then January isn’t far away…
Patrick