Arsenal have confirmed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no longer be Arsenal captain.
Ahead of Saturday’s win over Southampton, Mikel Arteta revealed the player was missing from his squad for a “disciplinary breach” and that all players were expected to adhere to the club’s “non-negotiables”.
The Athletic reported on Saturday evening that Aubameyang failed to return to England at an agreed time having been given permission to fetch his mother from France in the aftermath of the defeat to Everton.
Guilty of a similar infraction in March – traffic jam-related tardiness in advance of the north London derby – it appears Arteta has decided enough is enough and will select another leader.
Aubameyang, who became the club’s highest-paid player when he signed a new deal in September 2020, will also sit out tomorrow’s game against West Ham.
A forceful statement from the club, reads: “Following his latest disciplinary breach last week, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no longer be our club captain, and will not be considered for selection for Wednesday’s match against West Ham United.
“We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed. We are fully focused on tomorrow’s match.”
This is the third time in the last 15 years that Arsenal have stripped the armband from the captain. Arsene Wenger got fed up with William Gallas and Granit Xhaka, following his spat with fans, made his position untenable during the dying days of Unai Emery’s tenure.
We wait with bated breath to see who gets selected next. It has been something of a poisoned chalice.
We’re also keen to see how Aubameyang reacts. He doesn’t have much of a chance to get back in the good books before disappearing to the AFCON later this month.
We do love drama.
Would be happy with a Martin Odegaard, Kieron Tierney & Gabriel Tri-fecta as captains
Bring in Gunnersaurus. He has a very long history and totally reliable to turn up on time.
I don’t know. I’ve seen him swanning about in front of the Emirates only 30 minutes before kick off before
I thought he was sacked?
Just so long as he isn’t in goal, lots of kids on match days used to score past him before the match.
lol, which part did people dislike? Honestly curious COYG!
I think it was the idea of a rotational captaincy that people are not a fan of. Give it to one guy, let it be cemented that they are the leader.
Tierney is a strong candidate, but it genuinely seems that Tavares may sneak ahead of him in the XI. Odegaard although he has leadership qualities, doesnt seem nailed on for first XI either, having been dropped for laca on occasion. Ramsdale maybe? I don’t think there’s an obvious candidate right now.
Ah I see, yep my thinking around it was that we don’t have any guaranteed starters other than Ramsdale which I’m not sure how much of an influence he will be as captain from between the sticks. We’ll see. I’m positive anyway, needed to happen.
why are we even having this conversation we all know it will be Xhaka again….rofl
Rofl sounds like manure’s new interim manager till they appoint brotherly giggsy next season
Maybe cos you misspelled the name of our next captain?
Yeah my bad
Turns out the best way to win the managers trust is by throwing the armband and shirt down into the mud, whilst simultaneously telling the fans to fuck off.
Being the managers best goal scorer, and winning him the FA Cup turns out is quite counterproductive.
Xhaka did that when Emery was in charge. It’s even in the article.
… you’ve missed the point there a bit.
Obviously I know that it happened under Emery.
I was at the game.
I was highlighting the irony in essentially rewarding the guy who literally disrespected the shirt and the armband and the club, by giving him a new contract.
Yet throwing the book at the guy, and publicly humiliating the player who basically kept him in a job for a handful of minor indiscretions.
In 2007, Hossam Ghaly of Spurs was substituted off despite being already being subbed in. Ghaly in a moment of anger stormed off the pitch and threw his shirt on the floor. This action was met with jeers and abuse from the Spurs crowd. Ghaly shortly issued a public apology two days later. But that was the end of his Tottenham career and he never played for them again. Ghaly later revealed that his blacklisting also meant that he could not reach the 30 game bonus that was in his contract. I wasn’t really angry at Xhaka for that Crystal… Read more »
Arteta wasn’t manager then…
Unless I’ve completely missed Arteta giving the captaincy back to Xhaka, I’m not sure you have a point.
Arsenal captains since Patrick Vieira left the club in 2005:
Thierry Henry, William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen, Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Who was best and why?
Anything we can learn for this time?
Best: Vermaelen (all too brief), worst: Gallas
What can we learn? That leadership qualities are important, not just playing ability. But also that being injury prone is not helpful.
Position on the pitch? Looks like a defensive player is best eg Vermaelen, Per, Kos, Vieira.
Agreed, although I don’t like keepers being captains – they always have some kind of a mad streak to them
Dave Beasant did a good job as captain for the crazy gang.
He was as mad as a box of frogs though, but then so was the rest of his team.
It’s good to have someone behind you (on the pitch as well as psychologically) but a goalie is too far behind the team lots of the match. CB or defensive midfielder is most sensible.
I’m coming around to Gabriel or White.
I think Laca as club captain till he goes while Gabriel continues to improve his English
Gabriel or White for me too.
Both fairly solid, look like they are our first choice CB. Both read the game well.
Ramsdale definitely a bit mental
Because they can see,the whole pitch Better and ate closer to players,to,communicate as compared to striker or gk
I think Lolo, obviously not the classic leader but at his best he was always quality and one of the bravest defenders I’ve ever seen.
Who is lolo?
Kos.
Laurent Koscielny.
(Lau)rent = Lolo
I was never a fan of that nickname but to each their own.
I always thought Vermaelen, MA, Per, Koscielny all wore it well. The captaincy seemed to enhance their best features. In contrast, it seemed to weigh the others down (including Henry, RVP, Xhaka, Auba). Probably not a coincidence re the rough split between forward and defensive players. We have so many new and young players in our starting XI that I can’t help but agree with the notion of poisoned chalice. Hope whoever takes it on can still express themselves and that it emboldens them, rather than having the responsibility weigh them down. Guess this is also one aspect of the… Read more »
No to multiple captains and sadly no to Kieran because a captain needs to play most of the matches and his injury record is a worry.
I like Gabriel, partly because of the position he plays too.
Bet Arteta is salivating at the prospect of Xhaka being his captain again.
Definitely, you know Xhaka will be made Captain again. What a shambles.
It’s a no brainer……….Rambo
Ramsey doesn’t play for us any more.
Bring him back just to be captain 😂🤣
Good first step. Now all that’s left to do is give the armband to the key player of the opposing team every matchday.
I would have said Tierney, but he’s not currently a guaranteed starter..
Tierney should be nailed on for the team and captaincy unless he’s injured or it’s a minor game. Still a far better player than Tavares.
He has some good qualities. Tavares has some good qualities. Tierney is a bit old fashioned, and the first thing that comes to his mind is boot it to the opposition once he’s the least bit uncomfortable. That simply invites further pressure. Tavares is erratic, and that might bite him and us from time to time, but he’s young and will only become better. When I look at Tierney, I see a solid but traditional left back in the making. When I look at Tavares, I see a prospective beast of a player that could be running the entire flank… Read more »
I was going to say better that Tiernay boot it to he opposition as opposed to Tavares laying it on nicely for them but you did then say he is that bit erratic
Yeah, Tavares has basically set up one goal and 2 big chances for the opposition for free! Nightmare when he came on against Everton
Not with his injury record.
I’d go with either Odegaard or Gabriel myself.
Good call.
I’m actually quite pleased with this decision. I think we’re heading in a new direction and a new leader, whatever has driven us to this, is a positive step.
Falling out with our only proven goal scorer especially after the Ozil mess isn’t a great look for Arteta or the club however. I recognize that Auba has played a role in this but our last 3 captains have now been stripped of it which says a lot about behind the scenes the past few years.
Yeah but he’s not exactly been pulling up tree’s lately. Let’s move on with a new hungry captain.
Blogs has made the same point but anyone who plays striker under Arteta is going to struggle as we create so few chances for them. In our FA cup run Arteta’s first year we were having to convert at crazy ratios that weren’t sustainable. Auba might not be in great form but there is a fundamental issue to how we play under Arteta
I do agree but this is the second time something like this has happened (as far as we know) and I just don’t think it should happen when you’re the most senior player and the captain. Form aside.
ESPECIALLY given his current form. That is exactly when you set the example and knuckle down.
We may not always agree for other reasons, but this is why managers love Xhaka.
Auba has been phoning it in all year. His head is not in it anymore.
I do agree to a certain extent, but what about all those sitters that have been missed? Can’t ignore the fact that Auba’s form has been patchy for a while either.
Where does it state Arteta and Auba have fallen out?
I agree man. We’ve been laughed at for allowing our players to exist in spa like surroundings while every pundit has joked about our lack of a winning mentality. It’s been really embarrassing having to constantly deal with these jibes. So yeah, it’s a hard line. But it needs to be set. If Arteta can bring down the captain, all the other players will understand that they must adhere to the new culture. I really like Auba. And maybe he’s being made an example of. But being Arsenal captain is, in my world view, the best thing that can happen… Read more »
Totally agree mate
I agree. But why does this topic seldom extend to the manager. Can it honestly be said that Mikel is establishing a winning culture and mentality here at AFC?
Does our manager not also benefit from being allowed to “exist in spa like surroundings”?
From what I’ve seen and the stories of his days as Captain here and coaching at City, I can’t imagine Arteta getting ‘lax’ at anything, anytime, anywhere.
Arteta is the guy of whom everyone says ‘he’s his own toughest critic’.
True. We need a new captain for this newly revamped team. This is exciting news!
Should have used the Ferrari. His Lambo’s obviously not quick enough.
Plenty of people who it could be, a few it should be, but it will be xhaka
Maybe Xhaka doesn’t want it……
Wow. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any issues with the decision/the way Mikel’s handled this, but I really can’t see this ending very well at all
Seems a bit harsh but then it’s not the first time he has been in trouble. We need a captain who will inspire and lead by example as well as take the game by the scruff of the neck when needed so that rules out Xhaka 🤣
Gabriel would be ok for me!
The exact same problem led to him leaving Dortmund to come to Arsenal. Hope unlike Dortmund, he will remain civilized until he leaves one day.
If only we could get anywhere near the money that we paid for him. The club will probably settle for offloading that massive wage.
No. He left Dortmund because we wanted him and could pay him much more. He forced Dortmund to sell him to Arsenal, which they did not want to do, but this had nothing to do with any other issue. The earlier problem with Tuchel had long since been resolved.
Dude knows what the score was with when he was expected back.
Also begs the question why didn’t he gave her chaperoned over? Would have been proverbial pocket change for him to do so!
I’ve no sympathy for him in all honesty and I hope Arteta has learned a stern lesson re: choosing a player on performance over carachter.
Fucking hell. This basically means Auba is not apologetic or thinks he had a valid reason for being late back, Arteta wants the captaincy stripped and that there is a big dirty beef between them.
Should have let a calm English lad like Chambers captain the side from the bleachers.
I like calm English players. Joey Barton. Jonjo Shelvy. Beckham.
Make Kola the captain to speed up his search for a new club, I say.
Tierney The Real Captain
Wow, when did that happen and how did he do that when the transfer window is closed? Surreal! haha
I think Mikel will stick with the senior players so it may be Laca until the end of the season, probably with Xhaka or Holding as vice captain. Next year will be a new start and a complete change, with one of the younger players taking over. I think Auba fancies going to Barca, sadly he won’t be missed.
Yes we have had his best years, time to sell and re-invest!
Yeah, Lacazette has the respect of the dressing room and as it looks as though he’s in the starting XI for the foreseeable future makes sense.
Odegaard if he could hold down a regular spot had leadership qualities, Gabriel would be a safe pair of hands depending on his English.
I quite agree with you and wonder why people think Laca would be overlooked for the honours.
Because he only has six months left at the club. Seems a bit odd.
That’s a plus. We’re not getting any cash for him, so if and when the curse strikes…
Laca makes since to me as a stop-gap.
I can see Gabriel taking over from next season. Guaranteed starter, not particularly injury prone (fingers crossed), already quite vocal & good relationship with supporters.
I was hoping that this would blow over and nothing more be made of it. There must be more going on behind the scenes with Auba possibly not taking to kindly to being dropped for the Southampton game? Either way this isn’t going to be good for him or probably us.
Will it come out in the amazon documentary?
More likely he didn’t like coming on against Everton behind both Nketiah and Inanimate Carbon Rod, this led to him pointedly returning late from his trip to collect Mum …. etc.
To be fair, inanimate carbon rod was probably man of the match. Deserves another parade if you ask me
That doesn’t make sense to me. Why would Auba get angry at being the last sub now when he’s been the last substitution many times before and why would he intentionally turn up late because of it?
There’s probably a long-standing reason for the fallout. Unless you believe Auba is that short-tempered and petulant.
You’re probably right but there’s part of me that wonders whether this couldn’t be a positive for Auba. He’s been in abysmal form, and perhaps he needs the pressure of captain off his shoulders as well as some time to regroup and find his scoring boots again. I only say that because there’s no way he’s going anywhere with the wages he’s on, unless he decides he’s willing to accept a smaller contract somewhere else. Arteta has bit of a history of dragging players in out of the cold just when you think they’re done. Maybe Arteta hopes this might… Read more »
Bang on
This last absence was due to his mother, I think she may have ongoing health problems. So I think it’s right that, when playing for Arsenal, Auba should have just two problems, his form, and his teamwork. Obviously he’s not going to be able to get his mum’s problems off his mind, but at least without being captain, that’s one less thing to worry about.
Shame but, tbh, don’t really see this as a big deal. He’s never been a traditional type of leader, and he’s likely to be leaving soon, either this season or next. Time to move on.
Give it to Ramsdale.
Too soon. Also, picking a CB further complicates the whole Saliba thing. The Laca suggestion for the rest of the season makes sense to me.
Ben White for me…
It’s not a one off or even the second offence if Arteta is ready to take that step.
KT and Gabriel as captain/vice would be my choice but it probably will be Xhaka as captain.
Surely it’s time we decided that the captaincy of this club just creates more problems than it is worth and just bin off the idea of a permanent captain? Do what Italy do (used to do?) and just give it to the player in the starting 11 who has most appearances on any given match day. And if that means we no longer gets captains notes in the programme, so be it!
KT all day long.
Guess he’ll be off to Barca to replace Aguero in January now.
Tierney or Gabriel would be the best choices. Could see Ramsdale doing it brilliantly but maybe not yet (and not sure about GK as captain).
Please don’t let it go to Partey or Xhaka, time for a different mentality
The opportunity to play with Braithwaite and Luuk de Jong would be too much to resist!
Even though I’m a big fan of Auba and I think we shouldn’t write him off just yet, I do reckon that this could be the best decision for all parties.
This young team needs a strong captain that is going to be committed to this project in the longer run. And I think taking some of the responsibility off Aubas shoulders could help him get back into scoring form?
Who knows?! Interested to see who Arteta picks though. COYG!!
One of us needs to pick a new name
Fortunately for you i like making up puns
Or did i write this in my sleep again???
clearly all designed to satisfy the Amazon programme makers – should be a belter
Still think this documentary is a terrible idea. And I don’t envy anyone knowing that even like an unguarded facial expression in a training session can be dramatized and made to suit an unflattering narrative I think it is reasonable to question to what extent it could influence decisions made. Like are Arteta and the higher ups more likely to make a decision which can be more easily justified in front of the cameras, or one which fits in with an image of themselves they want to project, rather than what is likely to lead to the best outcome for… Read more »
There’s something weird about Artetas relationships with players. This puts his handling of Özil, Mustafi, Saliba, Guendozi, Sokratis etc in a different light as far as I’m concerned. Not saying that we didn’t need to get rid of those guys (Saliba and Guendozi excluded), but the matter in which it was handled wasn’t very good and left the club with a terrible negotiation position when selling them.
Ramsdale. All fooking day long.
give it to Ramsdale.. come in and shown has the fight, drive and passion.. a natural leader
I agree, he seems a more natural leader to me than Tierney, who would probably still do a pretty good job tbf. Gabriel is another candidate based on what I see on the pitch, but not I’m not sure how his English is? Odegaard as national team captain from a young age is worth considering too, but needs to cement his starting xi place first It’s quite likely Tierney will be here for another 5+ years at least, and if in that time Ramsdale becomes the clear leader, well you can’t just strip Tierney of the captaincy to give it… Read more »
Agree with you on all points. Would be happy to see it given to Tierney or Ramsdale or Gabriel, but if Laca is showing the kind of commitment to the team off the field that he’s showing on it, I wouldn’t be surprised or opposed to him being given it. I remember that interview where ESR credited Laca as being the player in the squad that supported him the most as he made the step up to the first team. Ødegaard may be an option next year, but not based on what we’ve seen of him yet.
Emil Smith-Rowe for keeps.
ESR or Saka (not now) but in due course
If he makes Xhaka captain, it will yet again show how out of touch the club is with the supporters.
Gabriel, KT, or Ramsdale for me.
Thomas Partey for me , maybe his form is not at the best but he’s still an elite midfielder and the oldest among the group whose long term future is assured.
Partey with more responsibility might improve his form
Partey is not a leader and his form is in the toilet. He’s one of the players who should never be considered as the captain.
Strongly worded and it seems a decision made at the highest levels of the club. Did Arsenal have to make it so public though? Yeah, keeping the discipline and all that but this could have been handled better. We’ve got a right mess on our hands
Josh Kroenke promised better communication with the fans, so the club were really damned if they do and damned if they don’t about this saga.
It would have been very obvious very quickly that Auba was no longer captain. So putting out a statement isn’t necessarily a bad thing imo.
It’s been the AFC way of reprimanding out of favour players under Arteta.
Air out the laundry and then be confused as to why no club wants to take the player off our hands.
The captions curse strikes again!
I have a hunch that the next one would be a transnational and the one after legendary!
Damn those evil subtitles!
Amazon are paying Aubamayeng to do this to up the ratings. Can’t beat a good conspiracy theory.
Good. I’m behind this. Clearly lacks the discipline required and his clandestine attempt to sneak back to the UK was pitiful. He never was the archetypal captain irrespective of his current form. He was an affirmative action pick based on his contract situation and social climate at the time.
We have a few burgeoning leaders in the team. Personally, I would love KT or Gabriel but whoever it is I hope their leadership qualities permeate throughtout the team.
An ‘affirmative action’ pick? Come on mate, do your politicking elsewhere.
You must have been saving the “affirmative action pick based on his contract situation and social climate at the time” thing, for a while now.
Feel better?
“Affirmative action” always one idiot.
What does the phrase mean?
Legal procedures and policies designed to mitigate potential discrimination against candidates from underrepresented groups.
Essentially he is trying to say Auba was a diversity appointment for captain because of the social climate (publicized BLM protests) at the time.
Very petty but not all that surprising. Just reading this comment section has made me aware of that there are fans who have never really liked Auba’s personality from the beginning. Now that his form has been bad, those (once) subdued emotions seem to be surfacing.
Thanks for the explanation.
I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt… do you actually know what affermative action is, seeing as you cited Auba’s social media presence as a reason for him being made captain…?
Yes I do. In order to be current and culturally aware the club in my opinion kowtows all to easily to social media ramblings. I understand engagement with fans is important and social media offers many avenues for it but if I start to talk I’m in trouble. He was never captain material in the same way Henry was never captain material but it doesn’t make them lesser players. This is a man who just a few weeks ago who anointed himself as “the coolest captain in the world” and therein lies the problem. It appears that it is was… Read more »
Given the diversity of our 1st team squad, I’m not sure you know what affirmative action is. Which isn’t that surprising really.
Wow. What the actual fuck. Wow.
it better not be Xhaka!
Say what you want about Arteta but he lives by the sword.
Seems quite immune from dying from it though
We now need a no nonsense character to step up and do the armband proud. Give it to Tierney who will probably just use a battered & bloodied old plaster that he ripped of his own knee without even wincing (not even a little bit) for the armband.
Leno. We should definitely make the next captain Leno.
Or Kolasinac.
6 new signings, bottom of the league (0 goals) after 3 games, 10 game unbeaten run, Ramsdale, stripped captaincy and we’re not even half way into the season! – Can’t wait for the Amazon doc series to come out!
Clearly, this season has been a hell of a ride so far!
However unpopular, Granit Xhaka should be reinstated as captain. How else do you explain a man coming out of a two month layoff and play consecutive matches.
Plus it will work as the “next out if the door” indicator
Fan backlash is probably the only thing that can prevent his reinstatement.
I really don’t think so, lets move on from Xhaka as captain now, not revisit something we probably shouldn’t have visited in the first place.
Unless he’s a glutton for punishment, I doubt Xhaka wants it. I honestly see no reason why he would.
Auba may be the fun guy in the team who is well liked by his team mates etc. and we may still need him after afcon. But being the most popular guy in a team doesn’t make one a leader. Apart from what we see on the pitch, we don’t really know much about any of the players characters behind closed doors or in training. Apart from fighting spirit, who in the team commands the sort of authority and respect by the other players to listen should the captain do a Adams or keown, flarings nostrils and all, telling them… Read more »
Would Arteta have stripped him of the captaincy for the same offence when he Auba won him the FA cup or when he was trying to extend Auba’s contract? We all know the answer to that question and for that reason I can’t co-sign this decision. This will only cause more division and friction in the squad. What a mess!!
Would Arteta have stripped him of the captaincy if Auba was found out to be a penguin? Probably as relevant a question.
You have every right to disagree but the simple fact is you (& Arteta) are willing to throw Auba under the bus cos he’s not scoring. If he was banging in the goals this would never have happened. I don’t expect fans to be fickle with short term memory but not the manager. What did Vieira say about a manager that backs his players. Now I know why we’re struggling. Arteta will throw you under the bus rather than support you & I can’t co-sign that.
I Expect fans to be fickle*
You mean to tell me they went along with the decision even though you didn’t co-sign? Scandalous
Ramsdale is mature beyond his years and a natural leader who inspires the team and the crowd. He’s reminds me of a more measured Lehmann. And has that Tony Adams fearless determination.
Ramsdale or teirney for me in the long term but lacca will get it for the season
I’d throw Gabriel in the mix but yeah, Laca for the rest of the season seems smart.
Just discovered Arseblog News has a “discpline” tag. Of course it does. What a club!
It is tradition. All our captains eventually go to Barcelona.
Imo the club captain must be an academy graduate. Someone that lives and breathes Arsenal from a young age. Someone that understands the club culture and what it means to wear the cannon. Tony Adams became captain at 21. Saka or ESR for me.
That’s a great point, I was fully on Tierney, but you’ve made me think
Oh boy, it’s going to Xhaka isn’t it
All in all, it would’ve been better for Mammy Aubameyang to be fetched by someone else.
He will be an excellent squad option for the next eighteen months.
The captaincy could be an incentive to persuade Eddie to sign on the dotted line.
Or, with our luck with captains, give it to Xhaka, and he might just fuck off some time soon
So I guess Auba will be Newcastle’s first signing in the January transfer window.
That would be awesome. We need a striker who makes others better. Lacazette for 6 months and then our summer signing.
Laca should be made interim captain. Next season will sort itself
Suspect it will go to Lacazette as per the Southampton game as an indicator.
Which would be fine by me; he appears to love playing for Arsenal and seems to always give 100%.
Pointless choice seeing as he’s leaving.
Why does that make it pointless?
Making someone who’s leaving in 6 months club captain is pointless. It would make sense to take the time to find and appoint the right person (who you expect to lead the team for some time) rather than this stop gap approach.
And if any part of it is being done to keep Laca, then the club risks repeating the same mistake as with Henry, Cesc, RvP and arguably Auba…
It’s short-termism.