The Gunners forward will no longer wear the armband and won’t be considered for selection against West Ham after ‘latest disciplinary breach’.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped of captaincy duties at Arsenal, the Gunners have announced, with a breach of club discipline having been cited as the reason for the decision.
The Gabon international was dropped by Mikel Arteta for a Premier League meeting with Southampton last time out, with GOAL reporting that he had missed a final pre-game training session.
It remains to be seen when the 32-year-old striker will figure again, with the north Londoners having confirmed that he will not be considered for selection against West Ham on December 15.
A statement on Arsenal’s official website reads: “Following his latest disciplinary breach last week, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no longer be our club captain, and 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.
“We are fully focused on tomorrow’s match.”
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A frustrated Arteta revealed ahead of the 3-0 victory over the Saints that Aubameyang was being punished for a “disciplinary breach”.
He told reporters: “Unfortunately [he’s been dropped] due to a disciplinary breach.
“I think we have been very consistent that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club and he’s not involved today.
“It’s not an easy situation and not a situation we want to have our club captain in.”
Aubameyang has now been informed that he will no longer be asked to lead the Gunners out, with that responsibility set to be passed to someone else.
A proven goalscorer had been entrusted with captaincy duties back in November 19 after seeing the armband taken away from Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka on the back of a public outburst against disgruntled supporters.
Fellow frontman Alexandre Lacazette skippered Arsenal in their victory over Southampton, but his future remains unclear as the Frenchman is yet to sign a new contract at the club.
goal.com