Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Discloses the Whole Truth Behind Fallout With Mikel Arteta

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Arsenal stint came to an acrimonious end in 2022
• The Gabon international had a sensational falling out with Mikel Arteta
• Aubameyang has now opened up on what transpired with the Arsenal manager

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recently broke down the details of what led to the public fallout with Mikel Arteta during the striker’s time at Arsenal.

The forward was famously exiled from the club just a year after he single-handedly won the Gunners the FA Cup and signed a mega £350,000-a-week contract.

There were signs that all was not well between Aubameyang and Arteta when he was left out of the squad to face Southampton in December 2021 despite being fully fit. The forward never played for the North London side afterwards.

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Aubameyang on why he fell out with Arteta

Appearing in Colinterview, Aubameyang, now at Marseille, disclosed trouble started at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when his mother suffered a stroke.

This all took place when both Aubameyang and Arsenal were struggling for form.

‘My mother a few months before had a stroke,” he explained.

“It was going to be Christmas time so I went to see the coach and I said to him: ‘Coach, I’m coming to see you because I’d like to leave, I’m going to go pick up my mother to bring her back for the holidays.’ He tells me no problem."

Aubameyang was granted days off and, upon returning to the team, had to undergo various health and safety protocols.

However, he took a test later than planned, leading to Arteta thoroughly berating him.

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"I arrive, the coach finishes his meeting, and then he grabs me, and he completely tears into me,” Aubameyang recalled.

“He shouts at me like I’m crazy, he says: ‘You put a knife in my back. You can’t do that to me given the times we’re going through.’ At that moment I tell myself that I’m not going to answer him because it’s going to end angrily.”

What happened after the fallout?

The 34-year-old explained how Arteta gradually cut him off from the rest of the squad before one day summoning him for a meeting, at which point he was notified he would no longer be the team’s captain.

After one last conversation with the manager, Aubameyang seemingly accepted his fate and controversially travelled to Barcelona in a bid to force a transfer despite neither club agreeing on a deal.

The forward admits some responsibility for his actions but insists things would have gone differently if the Arsenal manager had shown some empathy towards him.

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Aubameyang stats for Arsenal

At his peak, Aubameyang was one of the most important players for Arsenal, particularly in the late 2010s.

According to Transfermarkt, the Gabon international scored 92 goals in 163 appearances for the Gunners.

He eventually secured the move to Barcelona after his mega contract was torn 18 months early.

At the Catalan club, he failed to hit the heights he did in North London but still managed a decent 13 goals in 23 appearances for Barcelona before returning to London to join Chelsea. His stint with the Blues was thoroughly underwhelming.

Mikel Arteta’s wife

Sports Brief also reported on Mikel Arteta’s wife who had no idea the Spaniard was a professional football player when the couple first met.

Lorena Bernal, a stunning model and actress, met Arteta in 2002 when the midfielder was on loan at Paris Saint-Germain.

The couple married in 2010 and have three boys.