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#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has enjoyed a decent return of 15 goals this season, including ten in the Premier League. While it has been an underwhelming campaign for the Gabon international, considering his staggering standards, Aubameyang hasn't really receive the complete trust of Mikel Arteta.
Aubameyang started his 2020-21 season as a regular fixture in Arsenal’s lineup, playing 90 minutes in 15 of the North Londoner’s first 16 Premier League games. As the season wore on, though, the 31-year-old found himself on the bench in most of Arsenal’s crucial fixtures.
Alexandre Lacazette generally received the nod as the central striker in these crucial game. A case in point was Arsenal's first-leg Europa League quarter-final against Slavia Prague. Aubameyang was afforded only 12 minutes off the bench, but he managed to notch up an assist.
In the all-important first leg against Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals, Aubameyang started from the bench once again, featuring for only five minutes in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat away from home.
While Arteta could have backed his captain a bit more, especially towards the fag-end of the season, Aubameyang is also culpable for his poor performances. The Gabon international has registered a lowly 35.2% shots on target in the 2020-21 Premier League season.
#1 Mesut Ozil
One of the most well-documented fallouts in the Mikel Arteta era was the episode with Mesut Ozil, arguably the most controversial instances in Arteta’s brief managerial career.
Despite being the highest earner at Arsenal, the World Cup winner found himself frozen out of the squad by his former teammate, Arteta. After spending almost a year with the reserves, Ozil was dealt another blow, as he was left out of Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League squads for the 2020-21 season.
The prolific playmaker could chalk up only 12 appearances under Pep Guardiola’s former assistant manager, who was rumoured to be unhappy with Mesut Ozil’s work rate, especially his defensive duties.
The fractious relationship with Mikel Arteta led to Ozil ending his eigh-season stay at the Emirates. The 32-year-old is currently plying his trade at Turkish club Fenerbahce, but he could have provided the dash of creativity Arsenal sorely lacked this season.
