Aubameyang stripped of Arsenal captaincy: Real reason for France trip, what he did to get dropped

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped off the captaincy at Arsenal, after breaching disciplinary codes by arriving late from a short trip to France.

The price for arriving on Thursday morning instead of Wednesday evening, as agreed between the club and player, was being left out of the 3-0 win against Southampton at the Emirates Stadium over the weekend.

Aubameyang was in France was to see his mother, who has been suffering with poor health.

However, this is not the first time that the Gabon international has had to be left out of a game due to disciplinary issues.

Back in March this year, the 32-year-old was omitted from the North London derby after arriving late to a team meeting.

Manager Mikel Arteta admitted he had to punish his captain, but also said he had drawn a line under the incident after the win against Tottenham.

He said: “We have drawn the line, we move on, and he is on the bench.

“We have a process for every game that we have to respect. It was a decision made after evaluating everything and who Auba is and what he’s done.

“We have other players who can play. Recently we have changed the team quite a lot and there are players who are willing to play and deserve a chance, so I’m comfortable with that.

His latest omission has however seen him lose the captain’s armband.

But what exactly is going on and did he really go to France just for a tattoo ?

The trip to France

The real reason Aubameyang was in France was to see his mother, who has been dealing with poor health throughout the year.

Back in January, the club gave him permission to travel back home to be with his family when his mother first fell ill.

Her condition has improved, but he’s always had to keep an eye on her and continues to be the pillar for her to lean on.

So LondonWorld understands he did not go to France just to have a tattoo, but to see his mother.

All would have been fine had he returned from France as agreed on Wednesday, but given the form of the team in the last three games and his own form, his late arrival might have irked Arteta.

Is it unclear what led to his late arrival, but travel rules into the UK have recently changed and Covid has caused several Premier League matches to be called off.

Losing the captaincy

There have been concerns about his style of leadership before he lost the captaincy, but from all accounts he is a very well-liked character within the dressing room.

Arsenal have the youngest squad in the Premier League, and even though Aubameyang is not a charismatic leader, he is seen by most of his teammates as approachable and friendly.

He loves to do the talking on the pitch as his 68 goals and 16 assists in 128 appearances attests tp.

It appears his form could have been affected by these personal issues off the field, however Arsenal will be hoping he rediscovers his goal-scoring run which led to him being offered a mega-money contact.

Is he a role model to the young players?

If there is an aspect of Aubameyang’s style he needs to work on, it’s his timing to club events and training.

LondonWorld understands that Arteta is not happy with the time he arrives to training.

It’s not a major issue but it’s those small issues that have come full circle recently.

There have been occasions when he’s arrived late to training, which didn’t please his manager who rightly expects more from his striker and captain.

There is also the issue from the Aubameyang’s camp, who are feel let down about the way Arteta handled the issue of his latest omission from the team.

Arteta has been very supportive and understanding of the situation he finds himself in, and even revealed that he felt his striker was drained from all the family responsibilities.

“It’s been tough because when you see a member of your family suffering and going through a difficult period, it drains you emotionally and you have to be close to them,” the Arsenal manager said back in February.

“It was difficult. He wants to be here, he wants to be training, he doesn’t want to miss football matches... he wants to play every minute of every single competition.

“So he was having the responsibility to be with his family but at the same time he wanted to be here.”

The Spanish manager has been supportive and understands what is going on in the player’s life, but there is now a feeling within Aubameyang’s camp that publicly announcing his late arrival and stripping him of the captaincy without context is selling him short to the fans.