When all is said and done, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang deserves to be remembered as an Arsenal icon for all of his efforts in north London.
Aubameyang left in unfortunate circumstances – Mikel Arteta decided that the striker was no longer fit to be captain at Arsenal.
The Gabon international left Arsenal with a record of 92 goals in 162 appearances, and one FA Cup medal to show for his efforts.
Aubameyang was instrumental in Arsenal’s FA Cup run in 2020, which remains Arteta’s only trophy since he arrived at the Emirates Stadium.
Now 35-years-old, Aubameyang is playing his football for Al-Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League, where he starts alongside former Real Madrid centre-back Nacho Fernandez.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang admits to the ‘mistake’ he made at Arsenal
In an interview with The Athletic, Aubameyang has now lifted the lid on his version of the events that eventually led to his Arsenal exit.
And whilst the striker admits to the ‘mistake’ he made with Arteta, he’s also unapologetic for some of the decisions he made.
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Speaking to David Ornstein, Aubameyang commented on an incident in December 2021 when he came back late after a sanctioned trip to collect his unwell mother from France.
He said: “My mistake. I should have come back the night before, but I arrived in the morning.
“I didn’t tell them that I would miss the flight because I was preoccupied with my mum’s stuff.
“I went directly to a team meeting. Everything was normal. After that, he (Arteta) said, ‘Come with me’.
“This is where he started shouting. He said I could not do this because I was the captain and it was not acceptable.
“He said I gave him a knife in his back; I don’t know why he said that. I was really p–sed off because it was not true and he knew why I flew.
“He knew the reason and what was happening, he knew I was struggling that year. I was expecting help from him, not killing me like this.”
“When I’m late, [and] it’s my fault — no problem. I always said sorry. But in this case, I’ll never say sorry. For taking my mum from Laval to London? No.
“Even if I came a day late, I would never say sorry. You understand or you don’t. If not, don’t give a day off or tell people they cannot fly.”
Aubameyang deserves his place in Arsenal’s history books
As mentioned, it was an unceremonious exit for the former Arsenal captain, who had contributed so much under Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery as well.
Given how he left, it feel as if some Arsenal supporters forget all of those excellent times, a striker who gave everything he had for the club.
Aubameyang deserves to be remembered among the very best at Arsenal, the kind of goalscorer the club need to find again.
Arsenal have bid for a striker according to some reports, suggesting that progress could be made in January in that regard.
But it’ll be very hard to find anyone who can mirror Aubameyang’s scoring half-way through the season, when Arsenal previously haven’t been keen to spend big.
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