“He’s not a leader of men” – Paul Parker feels “bad boy” Aubameyang became captain at Arsenal because of how much he cost

Paul Parker has taken a shot at Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The former Manchester United defender believes the Gunners made him captain only because of how much he cost them and not because of his qualities.

Arsenal signed Aubameyang in 2018 from Borussia Dortmund and he has been at the club since. The striker was on the verge of leaving the club but stayed back after penning a new three-year deal worth about £55 million in 2020.

So far this season, Aubameyang has four goals and an assist in the Premier League. It is a big improvement from his total of 10 goals and three assists last season. However, in a recent interview with BonusCodeBets, Parker admitted he is not happy with the Arsenal man.

"Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struggled for the last 18 months at Borussia Dortmund with his bad boy behaviour and he's brought a bit of that to Arsenal," he said. "Since they signed him, he's been very inconsistent. They gave him the armband to pacify him.

"But the difference is, he's not a leader of men and he got the armband maybe because of how much he cost, how much they're paying him and just try and keep him sweet but he's definitely not a leader of men," he added. "He's not captain material but when you score the odd goal, people will go with it."

Parker praises Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe

While Paul Parker is not a big fan of Aubameyang, the former Manchester United defender praised Emile Smith Rowe in the same interview. He believes the youngster does a lot of hard work on the pitch and wants to be everywhere.

"Emile Smith-Rowe has been the revelation and Bukayo Saka has done okay but he hasn't he hasn't got the presence of Smith-Rowe," he said. "It's sheer embarrassment that they rely on a young boy grabbing a ball in deep areas and conducting how they play all over the park.

"He [Smith-Rowe] is another midfield player, who wouldn't be satisfied being called a holding player or central attacking player or anything like that," he added. "He wants to be everywhere and all over the park with the ball at his feet."

Arsenal started the season with three losses but have now climbed up to sixth position in the Premier League table and are just three points off the top 4.