New Barcelona signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has faulted Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for his exit from the North London side.
Aubameyang was unveiled by Barcelona on Thursday after making his free transfer early in the week. The 32-year-old is believed to have taken a significant cut on his Arsenal wage, which started at around 300,000 euros ($337,000) a week. Barca continues to be hampered by enormous debts, which amount to more than a billion euros.
Speaking at his Barcelona unveiling, the Gabonese forward opened up on the end of his time at Emirates Stadium.
“A difficult few months, I’ve never wanted to do anything wrong, it’s in the past,” he said.
When asked if Arteta was responsible for his exit, he added: “Yeah, I think it was just with him. I can’t say much, he wasn’t happy, I stayed calm and that’s it.”
“He wasn’t happy and that was it. I can’t say anything else because that’s what happened. I wasn’t very happy and I’m better this way,” he added.
Aubameyang and manager, Mikel Arteta’s relationship declined after a disciplinary breach by the 32-year-old led to him being stripped of his captaincy and excluded from a number of matchday squads further signifying his exit rumours. In January, Aubameyang was part of the Gabon squad at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon but missed the first two games with coronavirus before being sent home after team medical staff said they had detected “cardiac lesions”.
The British Press Association reported that Arsenal delayed announcing Aubameyang’s departure as a gesture of respect to Barcelona, whose president, Joan Laporta, said on Tuesday that the official unveiling may come later in the week
