December 24, (THEWILL) – Mikel Arteta has defended his treatment of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, claiming that benching the attacker was not a power move on his part.
Following yet another disciplinary issue, Arteta has deprived Aubameyang of the captain’s armband and has ordered the Gabonese international to train away from the squad until after the Africa Cup of Nations, despite having already disciplined him.
Some have said that Arteta threw Aubameyang under the bus in order to demonstrate his authority and influence in the dressing room, but the boss was having none of it.
“I do not establish my authority by being dictatorial or ruthless. I just ask for one thing: respect and commitment,” Arteta said. “At this level, if I don’t get that, I will pack my bags and go somewhere else because that is the minimum I can ask for.
“I am going to expect that from everybody who works for the club. First of all from myself, and the day I don’t do that I will walk through that door and go and do something else. It is as clear as that.
“To be successful you have to be passionate about something and want to represent a club of this size, with its history. That is the minimum standard you have to bring.
“I am not going to ask anybody to put the ball in the top corner every time they hit it, but I will ask them to do the right things every single day for this club.”
There have been reports claiming that Arsenal are willing to listen to bids for Aubameyang in the January transfer window as the north London outfit prepare to strike off the 32-year-old and his £350,000-per-week contract from their books.
However, Aubameyang’s wages will make it difficult to find a suitor. Barcelona is keeping an eye on the issue but the Catalan side is close to signing Manchester City’s Ferran Torres instead, while Juventus has been mentioned as a possible interested club.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
