Arteta downplays situation with Aubameyang after north London derby

Mikel Arteta has said the issue with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been resolved and left behind after the striker was dropped from Arsenal's starting XI in the North London Derby on Sunday.

Aubameyang was initially touted to start the game, according to numerous reports. It was then claimed that he arrived late to the Emirates for the game, hence Arteta's decision to drop the Gabonese. Arsenal went on to win the game 2-1 despite their star striker's absence.

3 - Mikel Arteta is the third consecutive Arsenal boss to win his first home league meeting with Spurs, following Arsène Wenger and Unai Emery. Tradition. pic.twitter.com/FW3eEo7Zt5

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 14, 2021

Arteta has now said the incident is a thing of the past and that the club has moved past it. The manager said this ahead of their second leg Europa League tie against Olympiacos:

“Yes. We talked, everything has been resolved in a really positive way. So we move forward.”

Arteta however rejected any notion that Aubameyang would walk his way back into the Arsenal team who host the Greek side on Thursday, stating that the striker had to "earn his place."

Arteta said this when quizzed on Aubameyang starting against Olympiacos:

“No, everybody has to obviously perform at the highest level to earn his place in the team and there are no exceptions there. We will try to put out a really competitive team to try and win the game.”

Arteta confims Aubameyang was in line to start for Arsenal on Sunday

Arsenal v Manchester City - Premier League

Arteta refused to specify why exactly the 31-year-old was not involved in the derby even after confirming he was initially in the starting XI. The manager tagged the occurrence as a "disciplinary issue".

"He was going to start the game. We have had disciplinary issues, we have drawn the line and we move on. He's on the bench," he said.

"We keep that internally. We have a process we have to respect for every game and that’s it."

Arsenal are already halfway through to the quarterfinals of the Europa League as they beat Olympiacos 3-1 in Greece last week. Aubameyang was not involved in the game so should he be dropped in the return leg, Arsenal should still go through comfortably.

5/6 - Arsenal have progressed from five of their six UEFA Europa League knockout ties having won the first leg, the only failure coming last season against today's opponents Olympiakos, who turned around a first leg home defeat to progress on away goals. Caution. #UEL

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 18, 2021

Aubameyang will however be a key part of Arsenal's final lap of the season as the Gunners currently sit tenth in the Premier League with 41 points.

With Arsenal 10 points away from the top four with 10 league games to go, Mikel Arteta might prioritize European competition over domestic duties. Securing the Europa League would automatically qualify them for the Champions League next season.