Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has insisted Mikel Arteta was the reason why he left Arsenal for Barcelona on Tuesday.
The Gabon striker has officially joined Barcelona on a free transfer; Aubameyang has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Barca with a release clause of £83.4m.
“I think the problem is only on Arteta’s side. He is the one who makes the decision. I cannot say too much about this. He was not happy, and so I left.” Aubameyang said.
“My last months at Arsenal were really complicated. However, football is sometimes like that. As for me, I never wanted to do anything wrong. At this point, I think everything is in the past, and the only thing I care about is the present.” Aubameyang added.
Before joining Barca, Aubameyang was involved in a series of controversies at Arsenal. He has not played for the Gunners since the beginning of December and was stripped of the captaincy by coach Arteta due to disciplinary violations.
In addition, the Gabon striker was not allowed to practice with the first team and was removed from the list to train in Dubai.
“I really want to play for Barca. That’s why I come here in the morning, because I want to get everything done fast. We waited until the last moment because there was a little problem with Arsenal, but then I was at Camp Nou.” Aubameyang said.
“It was a very long day, everything was crazy. After signing the contract, I stayed at my father’s house for a long time in the hope that everything would be fine.” he added.
Aubameyang’s various team titles include the French League Cup with Saint Etienne (2013), the German Cup with Dortmund (2017) and the FA Cup with Arsenal (2020). He has 72 full international caps for Gabon, scoring 30 goals.
