"Matter could have been resolved differently" - Former Arsenal defender on Mikel Arteta's decision to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Ex-Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has said that he does not agree with how the club dealt with their former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta stripped Aubameyang of the captain’s armband following a disciplinary breach in December 2021. Between December and January, the Gabon international did not play a single match for the north London outfit. At the end of the January 2022 transfer window, Arteta’s side terminated the 32-year-old’s contract, allowing him to join Barcelona for free.

Sokratis, who also left Arsenal as a free agent in January 2021, does not think rescinding Aubameyang’s contract was the 'correct choice'. Speaking to Sun Sport, the 33-year-old said:

“Aubameyang is not the only one who left this way from Arsenal, other players also left like that; including myself. That was the team’s choice, each footballer works for the team and has to respect that choice. I don’t know and personally I don’t think it was the correct choice; the matter could have been resolved differently.”

The Olympiacos player has wished the Gabonese striker all the luck in his new endeavour with Barcelona. The Greek defender added:

“I’ve known Aubameyang for many years, I know what he can do as a footballer. I am certain of what he will do at Barcelona. I wish him good luck and all the best. The same goes for Arsenal despite the way I also left. I wish them well.”

Aubameyang spent four years at the Emirates Stadium, scoring 92 goals in 163 appearances and winning an FA Cup.

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Arsenal outcast Aubameyang has been an asset for Xavi’s Barcelona

For the Gunners, the Gabon international took part in 14 Premier League games in the 2021-22 campaign, scoring four goals and providing an assist.

Since moving to Barcelona in February, he has scored eight goals in nine La Liga games. He has scored twice more in five UEFA Europa League outings, taking his tally for the club to ten goals in 14 games.

The faith that Xavi has shown in Aubameyang has helped him greatly. He has settled in effortlessly at the Camp Nou and has proven himself to be the team’s undisputed frontman.

Had the Gunners taken a different approach with Aubameyang, as Sokratis suggested, they might have had a formidable, confident and hungry striker.