"It affected the team" - Arsenal legend says Mikel Arteta's 'bold' decision cost Gunners UEFA Champions League spot last season

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has said that Mikel Arteta's decision to let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave in January put paid to the club's UEFA Champions League hopes.

Despite the exit of the prolific striker midseason, the Gunners looked good to finish in the top four with three games to go, leading fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur by four points. However, consecutive defeats - one of them to Spurs - meant Tottenham pipped the Gunners to fourth place by two points.

Aubameyang, who arrived in London from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018, was stripped of the Gunners captaincy in December last year for disciplinary reasons. The 33-year-old joined Barcelona on a free transfer after scoring four Premier League goals last season.

At the Camp Nou, though, Aubameyang caught fire, registered 13 goals across competitions, including 11 in La Liga, where Barcelona finished second. The Gunners could have done with his goals during the second half of the 2021-22 campaign.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Keown said that Aubameyang's absence cost a young Gunners team a Champions League place.

"The manager said, 'No more. I want role models at this football club for these young players; they need guidance'. I think he's done it for those reasons. But in the short term, I think it affected the team, because they didn't get enough goals."

He continued:

"Maybe, if you could've kept him there until the end of the season, (Gabriel) Jesus has come in now, and Aubameyang is history. But those goals were a huge miss. I think the player could’ve been forgiven."

He added:

"It was too much for the manager and, with that, we lost a lot of goals. We will never know, but those goals were good enough to get Barcelona into the Champions League. It could've done the same for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger would've kept him at the club and found a solution to get him on the pitch."

Aubameyang, who has recently been linked with Chelsea, enjoyed a productive four-year stint in London, registering 92 goals and 21 assists in 163 games across competitions. He also helped the Gunners win two trophies — the FA Cup and the Community Shield.

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Paul Merson predicts Arsenal's Saturday clash against Leicester City

In his column for Sportskeeda, former Gunners forward Paul Merson provided his predictions for the second gameweek of Premier League fixtures this season. Making his prediction for Arsenal's clash with Leicester City at the Emirates, he wrote:

"I thought Arsenal were outstanding in their first 20 minutes against Crystal Palace. I was very impressed by them at times last week, and I think they should be able to win this game easily."

He predicted Arsenal to beat the Foxes by three unanswered goals.