Mikel Arteta has confirmed that club-captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was left out of Arsenal's squad to face Southampton due to a disciplinary breach.
Aubameyang has struggled as of late, with Alexandre Lacazette preferred upfront during Monday night's 2-1 defeat against Everton.
Now, Arteta has named an unchanged lineup to face the Saints and admitted that the Gabon international was left out because of a disciplinary problem.
Speaking ahead of kick-off, the former Manchester City assistant coach said: "Unfortunately due to a disciplinary breach.
"I think we have been very consistent that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club, and he's not involved today."
The 32-year-old missed last season's 2-1 win against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur after arriving late to a team meeting before Arteta opted to drop him from the starting XI - but did keep him in the matchday squad.
"He was going to start the game, we had a disciplinary issue, we've drawn the line, we move on," the Spaniard told Sky Sports back in March.
"We keep it internal. We have a process that we have to respect for every game, and that's it."
Asked whether he debated dropping the former Borussia Dortmund star from the squad altogether, Arteta added: "It is a decision made after evaluating everything, and who Auba is and what's he done and that's it."
Aubameyang was reportedly disciplined earlier in the 2020/21 campaign for missing a COVID-19 test before a European trip and was also thought to have been 'reminded of his responsibilities' by the club for breaching COVID-19 regulations to get a tattoo in February of this year.
