CHRIS SUTTON: Mikel Arteta had NO choice but to drop Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. After his utterly remarkable late arrival… as Arsenal captains he needs to show more professionalism.
It seems like many Arsenal fans were disappointed to see him on the bench, but rules are rules.
Last year we heard a ‘wheel of fortune’ had been introduced by Mikel Arteta as a punishment system in the Arsenal dressing room.
If a player breaks the rules — such as by coming up late for training or letting his mobile phone interrupt a team meeting for example it rings — his penalty is determined by a spin of the wheel.
He might be lucky and land on a modest fine, or he might be told to tidy up the dressing room or even made to clean staff members’ cars.
It sounded like a light-hearted way of Arteta reminding his players of the importance of remaining professional in the work field.
I imagine an extension of the Arsenal manager’s disciplinary code is that if you’re late on the day of the game, you don’t start.
Timekeeping is important according to Arteta. If Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang turned up late — which is utterly not suitable for a captain to do on the day of the north London derby — then Arteta had no choice but to implement the punishment on him.
What message would it send to the others if Arteta didn’t follow up on his own code? besides it would not have appeared fair to the other team mates had he let him off.
We are not sure as to why he might have been late, but word has it this wasn’t his first infringement of this kind.
Aubameyang signed a lucrative new deal not long ago. The least a player can do in return is show some professionalism.