Arsenal Boss Arteta Aims Dig at Chelsea Striker Aubameyang

• Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has aimed a dig at former striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
• Aubameyang and Arteta fell out on multiple occasions before the striker left the English club
• He returned to England with Chelsea in the summer and Arteta is still throwing shade on him

Three years ago, Arsenal put faith in Mikel Arteta to take over as the club's head coach from interim boss Freddie Ljunberg. The Spaniard was Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City then.

He proved the decision right by winning the FA Cup a few months later, beating rivals Chelsea in the final, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang getting two goals after Christian Pulisic put the Blues ahead.

Trouble soon began to flare up between Aubameyang and Arteta, after it emerged the striker was responsible for disciplinary breaches, as per Arsenal's official website.

He was first removed as captain and later banished from first-team training, as revealed by the Mirror.

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The Gunners and the Gabonese later parted ways by mutual consent and he joined Barcelona, only to return to England with Chelsea after half a season at the Catalan club.

Arteta defends Aubameyang exit decision

Arteta has been consistently vocal about his process at Arsenal and his insistence on not condoning indiscipline.

Speaking to Sky Sports, as published by Football Daily, he said some players had been holding the club back.

‘‘First of all, I didn’t take that decision; we took that decision as a club. Obviously there is my recommendation and what I feel that we need to do to get where we want, but I wouldn’t like to single out one player. I think it was with several players. It was part of the strategy of what we’re trying to build,’’ he said.

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Many players, including Alexander Lacazette, Matteo Guendouzi, Bernd Leno among others, have left the club under Arteta, while he defended the decisions of the club.

‘‘At the end of the day, when you are in that process and you want to go faster, there are people holding that boat [back] and putting weight on it. I’m sorry, but we want to go even faster and there’s no time, whether it’s a player or a staff member, for someone damaging the club..."

Arteta warned against signing Ronaldo

Sports Brief earlier reported that Arteta has been warned not to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, whose contract was terminated by Manchester United.

Arsenal will try to sign a striker in January to replace Gabriel Jesus, who was injured at the World Cup with Brazil and underwent successful knee surgery.

Some believe that Ronaldo's disciplinary record, which led to his Manchester United exit, makes him unfit to play for the Gunners under Arteta.