Graeme Souness has praised Mikel Arteta for how he dealt with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang following his latest disciplinary issue.
The Gunners have banished the striker from the Arsenal squad after several off-field rule breaches.
Arteta has previously protected his captain, but his latest indiscretion was too much for the Spaniard to take and he cracked down on the Gabon star.
With Arsenal flourishing since he has been absent from the starting XI, it appears the former Borussia Dortmund man might struggle to recover from his latest issue.
Arteta’s decision to punish one of his best players impressed former Liverpool man turned pundit, Souness who said he is putting his foot down.
He said on Sky Sports via The Daily Mail: ‘That was a big moment for him. He’s a young manager and he’s put his foot down.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
These big decisions will define Arteta as a manager, and he has already started on the right foot.
The manager handles everything that happens in a football club and Arteta knows he would be held responsible if his team isn’t performing well.
The decision to sideline Auba is paying off. This will result in players, fans and pundits respecting him a lot more.
Should’ve been dropped months ago, long before this happened.
So you think Souness was out of line with his praise?
I think Auba should’ve been dropped months ago.
So you think Arteta was out of line with his disciplinary actions / tactics regarding Aubameyang?
Lol talk about reading too much into a comment. I didn’t mention Aubas discipline issue and how MA dealt with it.
I simply said Auba should’ve been benched months ago, I’m not really sure what’s unclear about that?
Yeh, I know!!!! 😂😂😂😂😂
As much as I want to say that Arteta’s tactics are partly at fault for Aubameyang’s lack of goals, it doesn’t excuse his lazy, “I don’t care”, Ozil-like attitude on the pitch. He worked his socks off to score goals before the contract and I think we can all now see that the reason for all the effort he was putting in then was to get the contract. I agree with PJ-SA above. He should have been dropped months ago
Did it take his underperming Captain to give him an excuse, to do something he should have done a long while ago?
Auba has been getting in the team when he should not have been. Arteta himself says everyone gets the same chances, its just some get more than others.
How many points has Auba cost us, playing when he shouldn’t have?
We wont ever know that but we look different all of a sudden he isnt there.
That is certainly how it looks Reggie
The only proviso I would add is that as club captain the decision to drop him becomes harder to deal with. There have been occasions when Arteta hasn’t given the same chances, but that ultimately rests with him and how he sees it.
Underperforming
The dropping of Auba has given a golden opportunity to Laca and specially Martinelli. I think both have grabbed the opportunity with both hands.