Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's time at Arsenal continues to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of many following his controversial exit from the Gunners in January 2022. The forward joined Barcelona after agreeing a mutual termination of his contract in north London before making his Premier League return with Chelsea just six months later.
The Blues purchased the 33-year-old in the hopes of seeing him return to his best form under former boss Thomas Tuchel, however the club parted ways with the German just a few days after Aubameyang's debut. New manager Graham Potter offered Aubameyang limited minutes, often leaving him out of the squad despite Chelsea's glaring goal scoring issues.
For a number of seasons, Aubameyang was Arsenal's marksman and appeared likely on the way to achieving a similar status to club legend Thierry Henry. In his first interview after signing, the former Borussia Dortmund star name-checked the Frenchman with a comparison to himself.
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"I think the club has such a big history and great players like Thierry Henry," he told Arsenal.com. "He's an example for us strikers. I'm really happy, like I said before.
"He was fast and scored a lot of goals. He's really an example. I'm a fast player and I score goals too, like Henry a little bit. But as I said, I have to work a lot more."
However, his four-year tenure at Arsenal is mostly remembered poorly after several disciplinary breaches. Footage in the Amazon documentary Arsenal: All or Nothing showed Arteta had kept track of all the issues with Aubameyang.
"I have everything documented," he said on the series. "With the dates, the times, the conversations, how it happened, why it happened . . . because of if one day it’s needed. [Aubameyang] has been late, apart from all the [other] issues, many times. The club has got a tradition. When you get paid that much..."
Aubameyang hit back at the Spaniard in a video that emerged in October 2022 shortly after he departed the Gunners. "Big characters and big players...he can't deal with it," he said. "He needs some young players who don't say anything. They listen." Aubameyang has since responded to the video, stating when it was taken and that there are no bad feelings since then.
Arteta and Aubameyang once had a great relationship with the latter playing a huge role in Arsenal's 2019/20 FA Cup win which prompted him to sign a new contract. The Gabon international was also club captain which made Arteta's decisions to leave him out of several matchday squads surprising especially with his importance in attack.
Ultimately, the Spaniard's decision to take a stand on his disciplinary breaches has been proven right with Arsenal flying at the top of the Premier League table. Aubameyang meanwhile, is on the fringes of Chelsea's first-team and will likely depart Stamford Bridge in the summer at the end of his contract.
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