Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been heavily criticised by former Italy international Antonio Cassano for his comments about Mikel Arteta in a leaked video.
Former Arsenal forward Aubameyang was filmed claiming that his old Gunners boss didn't know how to handle some of the bigger personalities in the team, explaining: "I remember they [Barcelona] first called my father.
"We knew the coach, Xavi, then he called me and said there is an opportunity because you have those problems with Arsenal, but if you come you will help us a lot, so I said, 'Okay'. But to manage big characters or big players, he [Arteta] can't deal with it. He [Arteta] needs some young players, they don't say anything, they listen."
Aubameyang's comments provided evidence as to just how strained the relationship between the player and his manager was during the tail-end of his time at the Emirates.
During the fall-out, many fans and pundits alike were divided over who was truly to blame for the situation escalating to the point where Aubameyang felt he had to flee to the Camp Nou.
Things didn't exactly work out in Barcelona either, with the forward lasting six months before returning to the capital to join Arsenal's London rivals, Chelsea, for a fee of £10million. This has hardly helped repair the relationship breakdown between Aubameyang and some sections of the Gunners faithful.
Cassano has not held back in his assessment of the Gabon international's comments, issuing a scathing response as he told Bobo TV: "Now Aubameyang is speaking as well. He dares to say that Arteta doesn’t know how to handle champions. Does Aubameyang consider himself a champion? But he doesn't know how to trap the ball.
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"When Arteta took Arsenal, in a general disaster, there were many players among that and he was there too. Try to play football instead of talking about Arteta, who is first in the most important league in the world. For me, it's madness."
Arteta himself wasn't quite as brutal in his response when he was asked about the leaked video during his pre-match presser ahead of Arsenal's Europa League clash away at Bodo/Glimt.
The Spaniard took the chance to spin the story into one that reflects positively on the current crop of Gunners.
"People are free to discuss what they want," Arteta said when grilled on the subject.
His comments on the work ethic of this current Arsenal squad seemed particularly pointed.
"Phenomenal, I've never been in a better dressing room," he added. "More enjoyable, more hard-working, better relationship with the staff to players and it's an absolute pleasure as a coach to be part of this group."
