The Gabon international was dropped on the bench for a clash against Tottenham, replacing him with Alexandre Lacazette
Aubameyang stayed out of the starting line
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was left out of the starting XI for disciplinary reasons, Mikel Arteta confirmed. The striker was dropped onto the bench for Sunday’s North London derby clash against Tottenham. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 31, scored 14 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions this season and captained the side on Thursday when they beat Olympiacos 3-1 in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. But Mikel Arteta declined to explain the reason for Gabon international’s absence from the first 11.
We have a process that we must respect
“He was going to start the game. We had a disciplinary question, we drew the line and moved on. He is on the bench, Mikel Arteta said. We keep it inside. We have a process that we have to respect for every game and everything. It was a decision made after evaluating everything.”
Who will take the place
Alexandre Lacazette was called in to fill in the punished forward. Alexandre Lacazette is Gunners’ top scorer in the Premier League this season alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, having scored nine times in 23 appearances. Mikel Arteta made two more changes to the team that started against the Greek giants in the middle of the week, as Cedric Soares started with right back instead of Hector Bellerin and Emile Smith Rowe instead of Willian. Arsenal is 10th in the Premier League, heading into Sunday’s clash, and is seven points behind the Spurs in seventh. While Jose Mourinho’s are in a three-game victory in the league, Arteta’s men have scored four points from their last three matches. Arsenal finished 1-1 with Burnley last week after beating Leicester and losing to Manchester City.