Obviously the big talking point at the moment is the news that our captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dropped from the Arsenal side that beat Southampton at the weekend, and due to Mikel Arteta refusing to discuss the matter in public, it is still unclear as to whether Aubameyang will be involved in tomorrow’s game against West Ham.
When Auba was dropped for lateness to the Tottenham game and demoted to the bench, it didn’t take too long for the captain to be returned to the first team, but this time around Auba is currently well out of form and has had his longest period without a goal for many, many years, so where is the rush to return him to the starting XI, especially as we beat Southampton very easily without him being on the pitch?
So what can Arteta do to resolve the situation? He has been strict on his captain, who by rights should be the one setting the example to his team-mates, so can the boss afford to be lenient on him just 4 days later?
Arteta is known for freezing out players that don’t fit well with him, but can he afford to do the same thing with our highest paid current player?
Paul Merson thinks this is going to be a big problem for Arteta. He told Sky: “This is not going to be a problem for Aubameyang because he’s got an unbelievable contract at the club.
“However, it’s a major problem for Arsenal. Who’s going to take him on those wages? Absolutely nobody in the whole wide world. And there’s his age too. If he was 27, they’d be queuing up around the corner for him, but not now at the age of 32.
It’s a big problem for Arsenal and Arteta.”
It is certainly an interesting conundrum to be solved!
We are expecting the pre-match conference soon, so I am sure Arteta will get more questions from the media, but will he be more forthcoming in his responses?
JUST ARSENAL SHOW – DAN SMITH DISCUSSES THE AUBA v ARTETA FALLOUT…. WHO’S SIDE ARE YOU ON?