Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang breaks silence after Arsenal derby win

Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took to social media after the Gunners' victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby.

Surprisingly, the striker was an unused substitute for the game against Spurs. But Arsenal still had enough to come from behind and win 2-1, thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette.

Speaking before the game, Mikel Arteta was asked about his decision to drop Aubameyang for Arsenal's crucial game against Tottenham. He told the media:

"He was going to start the game. We had a disciplinary issue, we have drawn the line and we move on. We have a process that we have to respect for every game and that's it. It was a decision made after evaluating everything and who Auba is and what he's done. We have other players who can play. Recently we have changed the team quite a lot and there are players who are willing to play and deserve a chance, so I'm comfortable with that."

According to the Daily Star, Aubameyang was reportedly late for the game, which prompted Arteta to drop the star striker.

But the Arsenal captain seemed to accept his punishment graciously. After the game, Aubameyang made an Instagram post with the caption:

"North London is Red and that’s it !!!🔴⚪️"

Aubameyang is likely to be back in the mix for Arsenal during midweek, for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tie against Olympiakos.

Mikel Arteta knows how important Aubameyang is at Arsenal

Aubameyang has been in great form recently

Mikel Arteta insinuated that Aubameyang's punishment was just to send a message to the squad about following the club's rules at Arsenal.

It seems that Arteta is now ready to move on from the incident, as he explained to the media:

"I made what I thought was the right decision. We draw a line there. Now let's move on again. We know how important Auba is for us, for the club. That's it. That's been dealt with so let's move on."

When asked about the players obeying the club rules, Arteta said:

"Because for me is the foundation and the platform that we can build something medium and long term that is sustainable. That can bring us joy and happiness. Without that, I don't believe that it would happen. That's why I keep talking about it and acting on it. We deal with the situation on the day. That's been done. Now we move on. We know how important Auba is to us and he will continue to be really important. That's it, no more comments."

If anyone is wondering why Aubameyang was disciplined for being late for the match today, this is him stuck in traffic at 12.04 in Muswell Hill! #ARSTOT pic.twitter.com/T3TlF1SX8f

— Peter King (@iampeterking) March 14, 2021