MY ACCOUNT
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has defended the decision to let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang join Barcelona and not replace the striker in January.
The Gunners allowed Aubameyang to depart on a free transfer in the last window after stripping the 32-year-old of the captaincy following a disciplinary issue.
The Gabon international, who reportedly agreed a significant pay cut to move to Barca, did not play for Arsenal after December 6, but has started in an impressive run of form for the Catalan club.
Aubameyang netted a hat-trick in a 4-1 thrashing of Valencia, becoming just the fourth player to score in LaLiga, the Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 in the 21st century.
He followed that up with strikes against Napoli and Athletic Bilbao to make him LaLiga’s first African player to score in three games in a row in all competitions, since Youssef En-Nesyri for Sevilla in March 2021.
But Arteta does not regret the decision to let the forward leave, despite the Gunners appearing short-handed with just Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah to call upon up top.
“We always make decisions in the best interests of the club and to get the best performances from the team,” Arteta told Sky Sports when asked about Aubameyang’s exit.
“We made that decision as three parties. One was the club, one was Auba, and the other was Barcelona. The three of us believed it was the right thing to do.
“That was a possibility, but I think when you have a clear direction and process of how you make your decisions, you have to be ruthless.”
Looking at how the decision angered some Arsenal supporters, Arteta added: “You have to have a certain courage and consistency in those decisions.
“If one decision is to only bring in players we can afford, who are going to make the team much better straight away, and who are sustainable for our future, then that should be the case.
“So, even if you are tempted to do something, but you think it’s going to bring you trouble in the coming months or years, you should not do it. I think we were brave not to do it.”
Indeed, Arsenal have improved markedly since Aubameyang’s departure, winning seven of nine top-flight games since the last time the former Borussia Dortmund star played.
Lacazette has filled the void that Aubameyang left, with his role in Jose Sa’s late own goal securing a 2-1 win over Wolves in their last outing, and Arteta has been pleased with the 30-year-old, who has taken on the captaincy for now.
“Laca has a really important quality, which is that he makes the people around him better,” Arteta said. “He understands the game really well, he’s a really intelligent player and his work-rate is phenomenal.
“I think he’s been very unlucky not to score another four, five, six goals in this period. We want to give him the confidence and he will do that but, for me, he scored last week against Wolves. He was there to make the final action to win the match.”
Arsenal will look to continue their pursuit of the Champions League qualification spots when they travel to strugglers Watford on Sunday.
