“It was a big mistake by Arteta.” Pundit pinpoints why Arsenal will not make the top four

Gabby Agbonlahor believes it was a mistake to let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave Arsenal in January and that will cost the Gunners a top-four spot.

Mikel Arteta had fallen out with the striker at the end of last year and banished him from his first team.

The former Borussia Dortmund man eventually secured a free transfer to Barcelona on deadline day.

This move didn’t affect Arsenal much as the Gunners continued to win matches, albeit by narrow scorelines.

But their push for the top-four has suffered in recent games, and they are currently on a run of consecutive losses.

While they struggle for goals, Auba has continued to score for Barca and former Villa man, Agbonlahor believes allowing him to leave was a mistake.

He tells Football Insider: “The decision let Aubameyang go was criminal. They should’ve kept him and maybe not started him if he wasn’t performing.

“This is where managers earn their money, get Aubameyang back in love with Arsenal and get him scoring goals.

“The big reason Arsenal will miss out on the top four is their strikers. It was a big mistake by Arteta.”

Just Arsenal Opinion

Auba was not scoring enough goals for us before he left the club. It is baffling that people think it would have been different if he had stayed.

It probably would have been worse because we could have ended up with an undisciplined striker that cannot score goals.

Tags Gabriel Agbonlahor Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

7 Comments

  1. I knew this from day one that people will always criticize the decision of letting go Aubamehang whenever the results go against us!
    What people failled to understand is that Arsenal is full of young players who doesn’t need bad influence as Aubamehang has discipline issues. Its just as simple as that.

  2. Imagine being left with Auba who couldn’t score goals.
    Well it turned out that the two forward who we have left are not doing any better.
    Auba is out of the team since December and he still got goals more than the both two forward combined together for Arsenal. That’s criminal.
    Letting auba go might be the right choice, but paying him to leave is never going to be right no matter how you think of it.
    Here are the numbers of the top players who have been released or paid off to leave under Arteta management.
    Mikhy, Willian, Auba, sokratis, ozil. I didn’t mention does who run there contract down like kola , mustaphi, soon nketia, elneny, and laca to follow this season.
    Will you believe that we won’t be getting a single 1m in sale for all these list??
    We have really progress so much.

  3. Wish Arteta would learn to manage players better. Perhaps his lack of experience plays a large part, but he will never be an elite manager if he can’t manage player egos.

    It is part of being a coach, and that psychological aspect is a weak point for Arteta so far. Let’s hope it improves for the sake of the club.

      1. That is why experience matters and why it is crucial to leadership. That psychological aspect is needed when form drops and belief wanes.

        Look how Conte’s statement in the media helped turn things around at the spuds. That’s experience at work, knowing what buttons to push, when, and why.

        Maybe Arteta will get that nuance one day.
        Conte with a veteran team is one thing, Arteta’s inexperience with our young group is another.

        It would be a Christmas miracle if he can pull off a 4th place finish. Losing 2 of the most winnable games, and winning 3 of the most difficult.

  4. utter rubbish. hes had to rebuild a team from scratch , too many free loaders b4 he sorted it out. might not get top 4 but at least these lot try

  5. Agree Durand. Why did Aubameyang go ftom top scorer to midfiring dud under Arteta. Personnel management is a major component of any management tole, moreso football team management. Arteta certainly hasn’t maximized the resources availble to him; notwithstanding the need to move on disruptive elements.

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