Martin Keown tells Mikel Arteta to stop falling out with his Arsenal stars
Martin Keown tells Mikel Arteta to stop falling out with Arsenal stars after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the latest to be sacked… as he admits he was ‘afraid’ the striker would end up at home scrap with Mesut Ozil as soon as he lost the captaincy
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has left Arsenal after being dismissed by Mikel Arteta
- The striker was stripped of the captaincy for breach of discipline
- Arteta has also ostracized Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi in recent years
- Keown urged him to stop and find a way to get the most out of his players
- He also admits he was ‘afraid’ Aubameyang would go when he lost the armband
Martin Keown has urged Mikel Arteta to stop falling out with his Arsenal players after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang became the latest star to be dismissed by his manager.
Aubameyang was unveiled by Barcelona at Camp Nou on Thursday after completing his free transfer this week.
Arteta was key to Aubameyang signing a big three-year contract with Arsenal in September 2020, but the couple’s relationship fell apart after the Spaniard froze the striker and stripped him of the captaincy following to a breach of discipline.
Martin Keown has urged Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to stop falling out with his players
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has become the latest Arsenal star to be dismissed by his manager
Mesut Ozil was quickly cut adrift shortly after Arteta’s arrival in the Emirates
Aubameyang admitted during his Barcelona unveiling that Arteta was the reason for his departure from north London and the Gabon striker is not the first to feel the manager’s wrath.
Mesut Ozil was also left out by Arteta, who didn’t even register the German for his Premier League and Europa League sides in 2020-21 before his departure while Matteo Guendouzi, currently on loan at Marseille, was also ostracized.
Speaking on talkSPORTKeown urged Arteta not to be so confrontational with players who misfire and instead “find a way to get the best out of everyone”.
the sports mail The columnist said: “Is this decision in the best interests of Arsenal Football Club?” That’s all I watch.
“There is no replacement for the striker. Arsenal are fighting for fourth place and have the opportunity to do so.
“This player, slightly different from Ozil’s situation, the current manager gave him the contract. He assessed the player, felt he was good enough to go so no problems.
“Tuchel came and said ‘yes, Aubameyang was always late in training. We treated him differently”, so the manager knew what the situation was. And, of course, what I also don’t want is for the manager to have a reputation for falling out with the players.
Matteo Guendouzi also impresses on loan at Marseille after Arteta decides to let him go
“I don’t know of any other top manager who has argued with so many players. Maybe it was easy to fall out with Ozil. Guendouzi has since continued and done well, entered the national team. It’s a spinoff or two.
“He may feel like he’s eradicating a culture that was able to develop under Arsene Wenger. I understand that, but at the same time, all football players are very different, so what you have to do is find a way to get the best out of everyone.
“You can’t keep arguing with people. You could argue, and I’ve seen Arsenal fans say, if you step out of line you’re out, but maybe not if you’re Xhaka. He came off the line a few times and came straight back into the team.
“So that kind of management policy, is it about building a culture or are there certain things he sees in players where he thinks ‘I don’t want that. You are out of the building”.
Aubameyang was unveiled as a Barcelona player on Thursday after joining on a free transfer
Keown also admitted he knew the writing was on the wall for Aubameyang and his future at Arsenal when he lost the captaincy.
Keown added: “I thought Aubameyang was part of his biggest success, winning the FA Cup. It was a shame he was allowed to leave.
“I didn’t want the captaincy to be removed because I feared the player would leave. That’s what happened.
“It’s a pity that the welcoming hand was not shown to him after he took the captaincy. It’s a huge honor to be captain of this football club, as he himself knows, and the player was released.
“Now he is at Barcelona. It shows the quality of the player. His dipping in form was the reason. He always had the same character traits but he stopped producing on the football pitch.
“Thanks to Covid, it’s like he’s fallen off a cliff in terms of performance and he has to go.”
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