Mikel Arteta asserts that he has no problem with a commercial in which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang states that his reunion with Arsenal won’t be “personal.”
In a pre-match trailer from BT Sport, the Gabonese striker, who is now signed to London rivals Chelsea, also declares that he is “ready” for the Gunners ahead of what looks to be an intriguing Premier League match on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
Aubameyang is getting ready to play against Arsenal for the first time since being kicked out of the team due to a conduct issue in north London, and Arteta acknowledges that any player who plays against their former employers will have an added incentive to perform well.
Aubameyang says in the video: “Arsenal, nothing personal. I’m back, I’m blue, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Arteta’s reaction to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s comment
Arteta, who was the man to strip the forward of captaincy duties at Emirates Stadium before offloading him to Barcelona, has responded by saying: “You expect players to do that. If you ask any of our players how they feel about where they are, they will say the same. Very dangerous. If Auba has something, it’s the ability to put the ball in the back of the net and he’s going to be doing that until the day that he decides he’s had enough of football.”
Aubameyang, who scored 92 goals for the Gunners in 163 appearances, broke down in their once-productive working relationship, according to Arsenal manager Arteta. He said: “Well, it’s a decision that we had to take and there are different parties involved. At the end of the day, when someone is not with us any more and being a player and having the role that he had at the club and how important he was, you always wish everybody the best. When someone makes that decision to move somewhere else, they need to enjoy their profession and he seems to be happy.”
Aubameyang, a striker for Chelsea, scored 68 goals in 128 Premier League games for Arsenal between 2018 and 2021, including one against the Blues in December 2019. He may become just the second player in Premier League history (aside from own goals) to score for both teams after Cesc Fabregas.
With Arteta’s team having lost just five points overall through 12 games, Arsenal will travel just a short distance to west London while leading the Premier League standings.
