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According to the Mirror, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's decision to strip Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the Gunners' captaincy was backed by squad members.
The report claims that some of Arteta's players commended the Spaniard making such a tough decision. Aubameyang subsequently fell out of favor with Arteta and ended up joining La Liga giants Barcelona in January 2022.
A clip from the 'All or Nothing: Arsenal' Amazon documentary, which releases on Thursday, sheds light on the response from stars over their manager's decision.
It is the reaction of Mohammed Elneny and Rob Holding that seem to give credence to the notion Arteta's decision was backed.
Elneny asks Holding:
“What happened with Auba yesterday?"
Holding replies to the Egyptian:
"He want to Paris yesterday then came home and the boss wanted him back…”
Elneny then showed his surprise at Aubameyang's timing, asking:
"One day before?”
Holding then explains the situation in depth:
"Yeah one day before and he came back the next day and then was late for training. He had permission to go there, because it was something to do with his mum – he had to go see his mum – but then he didn’t get back in time, didn’t listen to him [Arteta] and do the correct thing."
The two agreed that Arteta was within his rights to make the call with Elneny murmuring:
“The boss had balls,”
Holding agreed with the decision, saying:
"Yeah the boss had balls, eh?”
Arteta made right decision in freezing out Aubameyang at Arsenal
There is no argument that Aubameyang was a success story at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gabonese striker arrived from Borussia Dortmund in 2018 for £57.4 million and quickly became a fan favorite with some inspired performances.
He boasts a record of 92 goals scored in 163 appearances for Arsenal but the time had come for him to depart.
The relationship between himself and the manager had become fractious. Although some fans will argue that allowing him to leave for free was a poor decision, it was necessary for the manager to remove the player from the club.
All parties involved got what they wanted
Arteta was rid of a player evidently causing him issues in getting his team to focus on their football.
The striker made a much-desired move to Barca and flourished in the early stages of his Catalonian career with 13 goals in 23 games.
The Blaugrana got a much-needed goalscorer to help push them back up the table with Aubameyang's arrival coinciding with an upturn in form.
