Will Auba come back to haunt Arteta?
IN A recently-released Netflix series about captains attempting to lead their countries to the Qatar world Cup, Pierre-emerick Aubameyang discusses his football upbringing and some of the lessons he learned from tough training sessions with his dad. ‘Never complain,’ France-raised, former Gabon skipper Aubameyang says. ‘Get back up and continue. It was an African education. The hard way. whether it is in life or on the pitch. Get knocked down, get back up.’
The insight is timely ahead of Aubameyang’s first reunion with Arsenal since his Mikel Arteta-driven departure, the sub-plot to tomorrow’s derby between his old club and new. Aubameyang has got back up and continued his career at two of europe’s biggest clubs, first Barcelona and now Chelsea. And even though his exit was detailed in Arsenal’s All or Nothing Amazon series, there has been little complaining. Aubameyang has largely kept his counsel. His appearance in a BT Sport advert ahead of tomorrow’s game might rile some fans, but Aubameyang loved Arsenal and had a strong relationship with the supporters, hence the contract he signed in 2020 with the intention of ‘leaving a legacy’ at the club. It is unlikely he has the same warmth for Arteta — one soundbite of Aubameyang questioning his ability to handle ‘big characters and big players’ would suggest not — even if Aubameyang is described as not a hateful person. However, having declared on his return in September that he has ‘unfinished business with the Premier League’, the man who brought him back hinted that proving Arteta wrong may be a motivation.
Then Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said: ‘The more challenges he has, the better he is. If he wants to overcome the Chelsea No 9 curse or show somebody in London he is better than people think, the more the better.’ The deterioration in
MOHAMED ELNENY claims Arsenal’s players were scared into line by Mikel Arteta’s decision to strip Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the captaincy last season.
But the midfielder believes a refusal to allow ‘big egos’ is now the secret of Arteta’s success. Aubameyang faces his old club tomorrow after moving from Arsenal to Barcelona and then to Chelsea. ‘If anyone is not the captain of the team and does a small mistake, they are going to have the same problem,’ Elneny said. ‘We don’t allow big egos. This is the dressing room we have now. Everyone loves each other and works for each other. This is what makes our squad strong.’ The Aubameyang saga was laid bare in Amazon’s All or Nothing, in which Elneny was heard saying Arteta showed ‘balls’ to discipline the captain. And the Egyptian said this was when the manager won his squad over. ‘One hundred per cent,’ Elneny said. ‘Everyone looked at themselves, everyone is scared because this happened to Aubameyang. This showed we can’t play around. We agree with what Mikel decided because he is our boss and we have to agree with his vision.’ Now Arsenal go to Chelsea with genuine title aspirations. Elneny said: ‘We believe we can do something special. We need to put Arsenal where they deserve.’