Expert: Mikel Arteta has Arsenal on different level as controversial footage emerges
Kevin Campbell has praised Mikel Arteta for his treatment of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in his final months at Arsenal.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Arsenal and Everton striker claimed Arteta’s actions have put the club’s mentality onto a different level.
As shown on Amazon Prime‘s All or Nothing documentary earlier this month, the 33-year-old was forced to train alone after being stripped of the captaincy last December (2021).
He played his final game for the Gunners at the beginning of December before joining Barcelona at the very end of the January transfer window.
“Listen, here’s the funny thing, it’s not about how the manager treats his players,” Campbell told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“He treated Aubameyang really well, he made him the captain, that’s how well he treated him.
“The problem is when the captain breaks all the rules and leaves the manager no choice but to drop you and alienate you from the squad because you’re a distraction and not committed to the football club, it has to happen.
“If you don’t do it, all the youngsters think ‘He never did anything to Aubameyang, I can get away with it’.
“At the top teams, there are non-negotiables and you have to toe the line. If you cannot toe the line, you fall foul.
“I know there are a lot of Arsenal fans who love Aubameyang and I’m in the strikers’ union so I love him and thought he was excellent.
“But you can’t break the rules, especially when you wear the armband.
“I understand what Arteta’s done and it puts the club on a different footing mentality-wise by sticking to his guns.”
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