“You put a knife in my back”- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang details how his working relationship with Mikel Arteta broke down

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mikel Areta fell out during their time together at Arsenal. The Gabonese was one of Arsenal’s key players and also helped them win the FA Cup in 2020. However, his relationship with Arteta started to break down.

Aubameyang was caught in traffic before a north London derby. He also had family issues going on and often arrived late in training. Mikel Arteta’s patience was tested, and he once snapped. Aubameyang has now explained the situation, saying in a recent interview (via GOAL):

“I arrive, the coach finishes his meeting and then he grabs me and he completely tears into me, he shouts at me like I’m crazy, he says: ‘You put a knife in my back. You can’t do that to me given the times we’re going through’. At that moment I tell myself that I’m not going to answer him because it’s going to end angrily. I didn’t go partying. He knows very well the reason for my departure, so at that moment, I don’t understand why he is lecturing me like this. I go home and the doctor calls me and says, ‘Tomorrow, the coach doesn’t want you to be there.’ I said ‘OK’, I knew the next match was coming and I said to myself, ‘Damn once again everyone is going to talk about it, it’s going to be a mess, what is this crazy thing?’ I couldn’t understand it.”

Aubemyang was frozen out of the team. He eventually left Arsenal in January 2022 and joined Barcelona as a free agent. His contract with the Gunners was terminated. After a poor spell at Chelsea, Aubameyang is currently at Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille.

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Pierre-Emerick Aubemyang shares his side of the feud with Mikel Arteta

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has claimed that the team were going through a different time. Mikel Arteta wanted the former Arsenal captain to be an example for his teammates. However, Aubameyang claimed Arteta needed to use more human emotions to understand the Gabonese’s issue. He said (via GOAL):

“Once again, [Arteta] explains why he is against me during this period when it was complicated for the club. That I have to be an example and that I couldn’t do that. At that moment, I said, ‘I admit that I have my share of responsibility, but the real cause I think you can understand if you are a little bit human. You can understand my move.’ After that, it was over, I stayed for a month training on my own while waiting for the break.”

Arsenal went on to sign Gabriel Jesus in the 2022 summer. While Aubameyang was a key player for Arteta’s team, they have filled up that void. Arsenal have finished second in back-to-back seasons for the past two EPL campaigns.

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