Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may have completed his switch from Arsenal to Barcelona this winter transfer window, it still doesn't take away the fact that he made his impact felt in the four years he spent with the Gunners.
Although there had been speculations about his future at the club in the light of recent happenings; first his loss of form and drought in front of goal, before most recently his disciplinary breaches, it most likely came as a shock that the club captain was allowed to leave this month and for free when he still had a couple of years on his contract.
One of the final signings of former manager, Arsene Wenger in his twilight days at Arsenal, the Gabon international proved a worthy business for the North London side as he returned at least 15 goals in each campaign except for his his first, which was a half season and ultimately jointly won the Golden Boot award during the 2018/2019 campaign, while also guiding Arsenal to the FA Cup and Community Shield in the following seasons. In fact, despite joining Arsenal on the deadline day of the 2018 January transfer, he still went head to hit 10 goals in 14 appearances for the Gunners. That was how prolific he proved.
In his four years at the club, he amassed 92 goals in 163 appearances in all competitions, becoming the fastest player in the club's history to reach 50 goals.
Aubameyang was a great addition to the Arsenal team. He was a great character on and off the field, one that will be sorely missed. His partnership with Alexandre Lacazette in their early years were pivotal to the relevance that Arsenal enjoyed then.
Although he was a character with the boys, never a dull moment with him and in fact, behind the scenes, you'd always see him lightning up the atmosphere with his funny acts, he is a calm person by nature and regardless of what is done to hurt him, you'd always see him composed. This was even evident in his behavior on the pitch. He rarely talked at players who make mistakes or fail to pass when he is in a better position even as the club captain. In making cases for his teammates with referees, you'd always see him calm and never an energetic kind of captain. That was his personality built into his game.
Like every man, Aubameyang has his shortcomings - indiscipline - which has always been with him through his journey, at least that is prominent, right from his time at Borussia Dortmund.
Prior to signing for Arsenal in 2018, the Gabon international fell out with the Dortmund hierarchy on alleged grounds of indiscipline. I remember when he eventually signed for Arsenal, a reporter for Sky Sports Germany said that Arsenal have bought themselves a real finisher and top quality player, who will come with his own baggage like going to parties and some disciplinary issues. So, it was never a new thing for the Gabonese.
Last season, he was dropped for the second North London derby against Tottenham which Arsenal won, having arrived late for the game. Although he had struggled for form this season, Arteta kept faith with him until about Matchday 16 when he was a dropped for another disciplinary breach - arriving late - before he was eventually stripped of the captaincy few days after.
Many may wonder why this is a problem, moreso, he's not the first player to go late for trainings or on Matchdays. As a leader of the group, Aubameyang is expected to lead by example and a lot of the young players coming up at the club look up to him. Allowing him get off these things easily would definitely send the wrong message to the group, which may lead to others following in his footsteps.
As a leader, he was already struggling to lead on the pitch, it behooved him to as such refrain from further damage to his already dwindling responsibility of leading the team.
Like he mentioned in his interview in Spain when asked whether he had any issues at Arsenal, he rightly said that his issue was with Arteta and understandably so as the Spanish manager had already reiterated that there was a need to uphold the culture of the club and anyone who was found wanting wouldn't be spared. He demanded 101% from every player.
It was definitely a great risk for Arteta to first drop him, then strip him of the captaincy. It was, however, a necessary evil to send a strong message if he was to get a hold of the team. As a young manager, he is already faced with the challenge of bring older players to order hence, setting the rules with the more experienced legs would straighten the younger ones.
Some may argue that the exit was too premature, especially given that no replacement was brought in for him. You would also agree that prior to his exit he had not played for the club since the defeat to Everton on December 6 and Arsenal had gone on a run that took them back into the top four race before their recent run of poor results.
I believe the Arsenal management were trying to avoid another Ozil situation with Aubameyang, which caused division in the team back then and also Arsenal paying high wages for a player that was not playing.
To say that letting Aubameyang go was a good or bad decision is not a verdict for now, as short term halo effects may set in. Perhaps, a longer wait into how Arsenal finish the campaign and fare in the coming season may be a better scale.
Despite his departure, I'm sure Auba is still loved by Arsenal fans. While I miss his character in the team already and sad that he left, definitely not in a manner I'd have wished if he eventually was to leave, I still have much respect for the player that he was and is, and wish him all the best in this new chapter of his career.
Allez Allez Auba 😍!
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