'You put a knife in my back!' - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reveals 'crazy' clash with Mikel Arteta that saw striker forced out of Arsenal

Despite being club captain at Emirates Stadium, having helped the Gunners to FA Cup glory in 2020, Aubameyang was dropped early in 2021 after getting caught in traffic ahead of a north London derby and missed a number of other games while tending to his mother after she fell ill.

Arteta’s patience was tested by the superstar striker on a regular basis, as disciplinary problems became an issue, and Aubameyang’s late return for a training session after spending time with his family back in France led to Arsenal’s manager losing his cool – with Covid protocols making life difficult for everyone at that time.

Aubameyang has told Colinterview of how his working relationship with Arteta began to break down: “I arrive, the coach finishes his meeting and then he grabs me and he completely tears into me, 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. I didn't go partying. He knows very well the reason for my departure, so at that moment, I don't understand why he is lecturing me like this. I go home and the doctor calls me and says, 'Tomorrow, the coach doesn't want you to be there.' I said 'OK', I knew the next match was coming and I said to myself, 'Damn once again everyone is going to talk about it, it's going to be a mess, what is this crazy thing?' I couldn't understand it.”

Aubameyang, who was working on a £350,000-a-week contract, added on eventually being ushered towards the exits and a January 2022 move to Barcelona: “Once again, [Arteta] explains why he is against me during this period when it was complicated for the club. That I have to be an example and that I couldn't do that. At that moment, I said, 'I admit that I have my share of responsibility, but the real cause I think you can understand if you are a little bit human. You can understand my move.' After that, it was over, I stayed for a month training on my own while waiting for the break.”

Chelsea briefly returned Aubameyang to English football in the summer of 2022, but he is now back in France with Marseille while Arsenal remain in the market for another goalscorer that can help them to get over the line in a Premier League title bid – following two near misses for Arteta’s side in that department.