Mikel Arteta has hailed ‘incredible guy’ Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after dropping him from the north London derby for a disciplinary issue, and is looking to move on from the incident.
Aubameyang was a surprise omission from the starting XI on Sunday, left on the bench and not coming on as Arsenal came from behind to beat Tottenham 2-1.
Arteta would not confirm the disciplinary issue behind the decision, but it has been reported that it was due to the Gunners captain reporting late for the game.
The Arsenal boss said before the match: ‘He was going to start the game but we had a disciplinary issue. We have drawn the line and we move on and he’s on the bench.’
Asked if he could elaborate, Arteta said: ‘No. Obviously we keep that internally. We have a process that we have to respect for every game and that’s it.’
After the victory the Spaniard refused to go into any more detail, but clearly there will be no grudges held as he praised his striker.
‘He is an incredible guy and one of the most important players in the team,’ Arteta said of Aubameyang. ‘He is our captain and these things happen.
We have lots going on in our lives and people finding it hard with the restrictions. I will never tell anything that happens in the dressing room.’
Arteta added in the post-match press conference: ‘I made what I felt was the right decision, we draw the line there and move on again.
‘We know how important Auba is to the club and that’s been dealt with, we move on.’
Arsenal played very well without their captain at the Emirates, conceding to a special Erik Lamela goal in the first half, but bouncing back to win thanks to a Martin Odegaard equaliser and an Alexandre Lacazette penalty.
Arsenal stay tenth with the victory, but go level on points with Aston Villa in ninth and just two points behind Premier League champions Liverpool in eighth.
MORE : Why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dropped from Arsenal’s side to face Tottenham
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