Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has broken his silence on a video that went viral over the weekend. In the said video, the former Arsenal striker was heard to be criticising Mikel Arteta following his move to Barcelona from the Gunners in January.
This time last year, the 33-year-old captained the north London side. But, after Aubameyang broke several of the club's disciplinary rules amid a poor run of form, he quickly fell out of favour under the Spaniard.
Soon enough, the Gabon international was stripped of the captain's armband and was forced to train alone. He sought an exit from the Emirates Stadium in the January transfer window, leaving Arsenal for free.
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Aubameyang then penned a deal at the Camp Nou and it was in this time period when a video was taken of the striker criticising his former boss, Arteta. In the video, the now-Chelsea striker was asked about his move to Barcelona and whether he was happier now that he had left the Gunners.
"I'm more than happy," Aubameyang said. "Spain changed my life. The rest of the team at Barcelona are very cool, there is a lot of young players as well but they listen.
"I remember, they first called my father [his manager], they called him and we knew that the manager of Barcelona [Xavi] called me and said 'I didn't know there was an opportunity because you had those problems with Arsenal, if you come you will help us a lot'."
As Arteta tried to create a new atmosphere at the club with a group of younger players, Aubameyang was made an example of due to his conduct, but the striker went on to reveal that he didn't think Arteta 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 video racked up thousands upon thousands of views on social media and Aubameyang has lifted the lid on the leak, while also providing some much need context. He tweeted: "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*."
Aubameyang will be hoping to feature for Chelsea in the return fixture against AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday night after Graham Potter rested the striker against Wolves at the weekend.
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