Arsenal strip Aubameyang of club captaincy

Arsenal have stripped Gabonese international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of captaincy duties due to disciplinary issues.

“Following his latest disciplinary breach last week, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no longer be our club captain,” Arsenal said in a statement on its website.

Arsenal said Aubameyang “will not be considered for selection for Wednesday’s match against West Ham United.”

“We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed,” Arsenal said.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta did not include Aubameyang in the matchday squad against Southampton for “breach of disciplinary rules”, the Spaniard told journalists on Saturday.

Arteta’s side won the match by 3-0 at the Emirates with goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Martin Odegard, and Gabriel Meghaeles.

The Arsenal manager, however, declined to give details into Aubameyang’s breach of rules, saying “everybody knows there are no negotiables”.

A section of the press reported that Aubameyang was at the airport to pick his sick mother on Friday but reported late to training for the Premier League match against the Saints.

But there were rumours that he flew to Spain to get tattoos.

Prior to this, the ex-Arsenal captain has not found his scoring boots in seven matches for the Gunners with his performances making many supporters question his commitment to the team.