Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang appeared to leave the Emirates Stadium as quickly as possible on Sunday despite the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Tottenham.
The Gabon international was left on the bench against Spurs as Arsenal came from behind to win without him as Mikel Arteta kept him on the bench.
Arteta left out Aubameyang – who is the club’s top goalscorer with 14 goals this season – after a breach of the club’s pre-match protocol, with the 31-year-old turning up late for the match.
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Alexandre Lacazette replaced him in the starting XI and scored the winning goal after Martin Odegaard had cancelled out Erik Lamela’s amazing rabona effort in the first half.
When asked why it was important for him to drop Aubameyang, Arteta said: “Because for me they are the foundation and the platform that we can build something medium and long-term that is sustainable and that can bring us joy and happiness.
“Without that, I don’t believe that it would happen. That’s why I keep talking about it and acting about it.
“I made what I thought was the right decision and we draw a line there and now let’s move on again. We know how important Auba is for us and for the the club and that’s it. It’s been dealt with, now let’s move on.”
And The Athletic claims at 6.46pm ‘a Ferrari engine echoed around the Emirates Stadium arena’ with Aubameyang leaving ‘just 23 minutes after the full-time whistle had blown’.
While Aubameyang drove off, the rest of the unused substitutes were going through a warm-down with Arsenal head fitness coach Shad Forsythe.
The club captain ‘was conspicuous by his absence’ and ‘it’s unclear at this stage if Arteta was aware Aubameyang had skipped the warm-down, or whether the player was granted permission to leave’.
The Athletic adds: ‘It would be surprising if there were any long-term ramifications for Arteta and Aubameyang’s relationship.’
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