Mikel Arteta and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's relationship fell apart after the player returned home late from a sanctioned visit to France to see his family in December. The Gabonese striker was forced to train on his own until a decision was eventually made to allow the player to depart on a free move to Barcelona.
For the first time since the event, Arsenal fans will have an opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes story of the club's actions throughout the process of suspending the player, stripping him of the captaincy and eventually selling him.
The Amazon All or Nothing Series' episodes four to six contain the Aubameyang saga. Within Mikel Arteta is seen having a conversation with Mark Gonnella, director of media communications and community affairs, after a press conference ahead of the West Ham home match; a presser dominated by talking about his decision to strip Aubameyang of the captaincy.
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Arteta says, "That's why I have everything documented with the dates, the times, the conversation, how it happened, why it happened… Because if one day it's needed [Arteta then symbolises showing a document]."
"He's been late apart from all the issues many times. The club has got a tradition. When you get paid that much money…"
And that is where the conversation ends. Strong words and the most insight we have gotten into the situation that occurred last December through to the January window.
Arteta's reference to the money that Aubameyang was earning at the club hits particularly hard. The documentary makes reference to the reported £350,000 per week the striker earned. This was a wage agreed upon during Arteta's tenure as manager after the forward helped the Gunners to an FA Cup victory in 2020.
It is not like Aubameyang was a player that Arteta did not know or wanted to commit to. He was a big part of the reason the forward decided to stay, as quoted by the Gabon international himself in a previous interview.
"Two things persuaded me to stay," he told Sky Sports less than a year before he was stripped of the captaincy. "The first thing was Mikel Arteta because since he came in, he brings a lot of positivity and a new philosophy for us.
"I think that was important because it matched my game, and I feel that I can improve with him. I think this was the key factor and as well, the love that I receive from the fans and the whole club.
"Everyone is treating me very, very good, so I feel at home, and that's why I'm staying. "We had a chat during lockdown, and we were supposed to talk about a game, and he said 'okay, forget about it, we're going to talk about the future', and he asked me what I wanted to do.
"I was like 'I feel good since you came, I'm improving, and the philosophy is very, very nice, so I just want to stay', and he was like 'I'm sure if you stay you can leave a legacy, but it's all about you and what you want. Of course, you can leave and go for trophies in big clubs as well, but I think you can create a legacy here in this great club.'
"This was the key message to me, and after that conversation, I was like 'okay, it's all clear for me, and I just want to stay' and that's it."
The messaging around his new deal was about becoming a club legend. This never came close to happening, but it didn't make the decision any easier, according to the club technical director.
Edu is asked if it was easy to support Arteta in the decision. His answer might surprise some, considering how public the Brazilian has been in his support of Arteta and how he wants to enact the Spaniard's vision for the club.
"No," Edu replies after a long pause for thought. "Of course, it's not because how many goals Aubameyang score for a season for the club? How much do the fans like Aubameyang? How much the players like him to be around?
"It doesn't matter if he's the captain, if it's someone from the academy, if the boy just started with the first team, everybody has to be treated the same. And if you're not doing what we believe is important for the club, we have to act, and this decision is strong and difficult to make, but we have to make [it]."
However hard it might have been to support the decision for the factors Edu raises, he stands by the manager, and the club has benefited since from it. Aubameyang may have left and started scoring for Barcelona, but he wasn't for Arsenal, and perhaps that was quickly forgotten when banging in the goals in Spain.
Whether Aubameyang, watching the series and the coverage of the situation, will have anything to say publicly remains to be seen. The series airs episodes four to six this coming Thursday on Amazon Prime Video.
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