Avid Arsenal fan Piers Morgan has slammed Mikel Arteta’s treatment of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after he was dropped for Sunday’s derby.
Gunners skipper Aubameyang was left out of the matchday squad that beat Tottenham 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Emirates Stadium.
It has emerged that the Gabon international was exiled after arriving late for pre-match preparations.
Arteta looked to play down the incident after the match, insisting it had been dealt with, while the player looked furious on the bench throughout the encounter, and did not take part in the post-match warm down, choosing to leave the Emirates early instead.
But Morgan has slated the Spaniard’s decision to leave him out of the squad entirely, insisting Aubameyang deserves to be treated better.
“The more I think about the Aubameyang/Arteta thing, the less I like it,” tweeted Morgan.
“Turning up a bit late shouldn’t warrant being dropped for a NLD, and for our manager to publicly shame our captain & best player in the way he did was wrong & disrespectful.
“I stand with @Auba.”
Meanwhile, Arteta has reportedly decided he will not take Aubameyang off captaincy duties despite his disciplinary issues at the weekend.
Some had suggested Arteta may choose to strip Aubameyang of the captaincy in order to further punish the player for his behaviour.
But according to The Sun, this will not be the case, as Arteta considers the issue dealt with and does not wish to take it any further.
It remains to be seen if Aubameyang returns to the starting line-up when the Gunners take on Olympiacos in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.
But Arteta will certainly feel like he has made his point crystal clear, and Aubameyang will no doubt be wary about breaking any further rules in the future.
