Ex Gunners talisman and skipper Pierre Emerick Aubameyang seems to have happily settled into life at the Nou Camp as he scored his first Barcelona hattrick against Valencia on Sunday afternoon that resulted in a 4-1 win at the Mestalla.<\/p>\n
Without needing to say more, Aubameyang\u2019s hattrick for Barcelona has sent a firm response to Mikel Arteta’s claims that he had not applied himself in training when he was with the Gunners during the last phase of his tenure at Arsenal.<\/p>\n
The Gabon international scored the opening goal for the visitors before later following up on Frenkie De Jong’s strike to put Barcelona comfortably ahead at the break before Carlos Soler finally snatched one back for the hosts. Aubameyang gifted Barca with a three-goal lead as he notched his hattrick, a strike which had originally been awarded to Pedri.<\/p>\n
Aubameyang will no doubt be most glad to leave behind him the stigma of the ascerbic end to his tenure at Arsenal after his public fallout with gaffer Mikel Arteta that led to his being stripped of the club\u2019s captaincy besides also being banished from the first-team squad after arriving back late from a sanctioned trip to France.<\/p>\n
Arteta had opened a mini Pandora\u2019s Box on Aubameyang’s exit last week suggesting the 32-year-old’s poor application on the training field was not up to the required standard and something that his teammates had noticed. Then, when questioned if he could have given Aubameyang more leeway in view of his seniority and standing, Arteta replied:<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t think I am too hard on that to be fair. I don\u2019t know the perception externally. There are some minimums and a line you cannot cross.<\/p>\n
“If someone is going to cross it because they scored 25 or 30 goals that dressing room has to accept it. First of all you have to score 25 or 30 goals.<\/p>\n
“Maybe they said \u2018listen guys don\u2019t train, you train once a week and you play\u2019. They will decide. If they are happy with that and with me there is no problem.<\/p>\n
“If they are happy and can live with that, everyone is happy. You have to do it though, hey?”<\/p>\n
Arsenal’s decision to let him the Gabonese go could be a costly one as his departure means the only two recognised no. 9s at the club are Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, who would both be out of contract in the summer, leaving the club with insufficient striking power to seal a top-four finish.<\/p>\n
Whatever the real situation may have been between Arteta and Aubameyang, it is still the best for the latter to do his talking on the pitch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"