Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad against Southampton after returning late from an overseas trip.
Aubameyang was dropped to the bench for Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat against Everton on Monday but was expected to be in contention to return to the starting XI vs the Saints.
However, the Gabon international was not even named among the squad after reportedly missing training on Friday.
Speaking before the match, boss Mikel Arteta explained that the club captain was unavailable due to ‘disciplinary reasons’, but stopped short of revealing what exactly he had done.
‘Unfortunately (Aubameyang isn’t playing) due to a disciplinary breach,’ Arteta said.
‘I think we’ve been very consistent, there are some non-negotiables on the team that we have set ourselves and as a club and he’s not involved. This certainly isn’t an easy situation, we don’t want our club captain to be in that situation.’
It is now understood that Aubameyang was given permission by Arsenal to travel abroad this week to attend a personal matter, according to the Athletic.
He was dropped after returning back to the club later than agreed, with his actions also having implications on the Gunners’ strict Covid-19 protocols.
Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood slammed the 32-year-old after Arteta confirmed his omission, while also questioning whether he should have been given the captain’s armband in the first place.
‘I think the manager is under huge pressure, but what he can’t suffer is players throwing the toys out the pram and thinking because I’m sitting on the bench at Everton I can do whatever I want and not curb with the rest of the players. I think it’s an absolute disgrace.’ he told Sky Sports.
‘The armband is a man who leads by example, he pulls everyone into life and lead by example. If he’s not a good talker then he has to lead by example. But he’s not showing an example off the pitch and on the pitch he isn’t either.’
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