“Mikel Arteta did exactly what everyone expected” Petit backs Arteta in his Aubameyang decision

Former Arsenal star, Emmanuel Petit, has backed Mikel Arteta for his decision to cut Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of his first-team plans.

The Gabon striker had broken another club rule, and Arteta asked him to train away from the first team.

Considering he was the club’s highest earner and arguably best striker, it made little sense to leave him out.

But Arteta is no stranger to making that type of decision and he was ready to sideline the striker for the rest of the season.

The former AC Milan man eventually got his contract terminated, and he moved to Barcelona for free.

There have been debates about Arteta’s decision and Petit reckons the former midfielder did the right thing.

He said via Sun Sports: “Mikel Arteta did exactly what everyone expected with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

“I don’t want to show disrespect for Aubameyang, because I believe he is a great player. But, for the last few months he hasn’t been himself.

“Something has changed in his mind. I don’t know if it’s related to the club, the manager or the way he is living in his private life.

“But we were not seeing the same Aubameyang that we saw a couple of years ago.”

Just Arsenal Opinion

Aubameyang was having a miserable season at Arsenal, and he didn’t need his off-field life to also be a problem.

But he is no stranger to breaking rules and Arsenal’s new culture under Arteta doesn’t need that kind of player.

We have done the right thing to get rid of him and now is the time to continue our rebuild without his contribution.