Arsenal’s captaincy curse continues as Aubameyang loses armband

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has lost the Arsenal captaincy after the “disciplinary breach” which saw him omitted from Saturday’s 3-0 win over Southampton.

A statement on the Arsenal website confirmed the 32-year-old has been stripped of the armband, adding that he will not be considered for Wednesday’s Premier League meeting with West Ham at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gabon striker was left out of the squad entirely last Saturday for Arsenal’s 3-0 win at home to Southampton, as Alexandre Lacazette led the line and scored the opening goal.

This is not the first time Aubameyang has fallen foul of Arteta’s “non-negotiables”; he was also dropped from the North London derby in March after reporting late for a team meeting.

Interestingly, Auba is not the first Arsenal captain to have courted controversy or fallen out of favour. In fact, the club’s captaincy has been dogged by difficulties for more than a decade.

Among captains who lost their armbands are William Gallas, Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Vermaelen, Mikel Arteta (current coach), Granit Xhaka, among others.

Mikel Arteta confirmed prior to kick-off that the decision to drop Aubameyang was purely down to a ‘disciplinary issue’.

Then, on Tuesday, Arsenal released a statement confirming that Aubameyang is no longer the club’s captain.

“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,” read Arsenal’s statement.

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