Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has issued a short response after a video was leaked showing Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang criticising his former manager.
Aubameyang enjoyed an impressive spell at the Gunners, but his time at the Emirates Stadium came to an abrupt end after he was stripped of the captaincy in December 2021 before joining Barcelona in the following January transfer window. The Gabonese striker returned to the Premier League on Deadline Day after completing a move to Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea.
Aubameyang broke several of the Gunners' disciplinary rules amid a poor run of form, and he quickly fell out of favour under the Spaniard. A video emerged on social media that went viral, which showed the ex-Arsenal striker taking aim at Arteta and slamming the Gunners boss for his man-management.
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Aubameyang was made an example of by Arteta due to his conduct, being forced to train alone and removed as club captain, but the striker went on to reveal that he didn't think the Spaniard was a good man-manager, saying: "To manage big characters and big players, he can't deal with it." He was then asked if Arteta had good people skills, to which he responded: "Some young players don't say anything, they just listen."
The Chelsea striker issued a response on Twitter after the video of him taking a dig at Arteta emerged, posting: "Aware there is a video out that was recorded just after I arrived at Barca. At the time, I still had a lot of bad feelings in me - Arsenal are doing great things this season, and I wish all my old guys well, just not on November 6 *wind and tongue out emoji*. Now full focus on tomorrow *blue circle emoji*."
When asked about the video ahead of the Gunners Europa League clash against Bodo/Glimt, rather than addressing the comments in too much detail, he used the moment to highlight the positives around his current squad. "People are free to discuss what they want," Arteta said when quizzed on the matter.
He was also asked about the atmosphere in the dressing room and couldn't have been much more complimentary. "Phenomenal, I've never been in a better dressing room," he said.
"More enjoyable, more hard-working, better relationship with the staff to players, and it's an absolute pleasure as a coach to be part of this group."
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