Following his arrival at Barcelona, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has finally broken his silence as to why he left Arsenal.
Aubameyang's Barca Wages Revealed?
The former Gunners captain has claimed it was his poor relationship with manager Mikel Arteta that led to him leaving the Emirates Stadium so hastily during the January transfer window.
The Gabonese signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Catalan giants on deadline day, after it was mutually agreed that he would leave North London on Tuesday night.
The 32-year-old had not played a football match for the Gunners since breaking disciplinary protocol in December by returning late from a trip abroad.
Arteta then excluded him from selection, forcing the striker to train alone and stripping him of the Arsenal captaincy.
Speaking at his Barca unveiling on Thursday, Gabon's all-time top goalscorer substantiated on what seemed to be a tumultuous last couple of months playing for the Gunners.
"My last few months at Arsenal were complicated, that's football sometimes," he said, per football.london.
"For my part, I never wanted to do anything wrong. My problem was only with Arteta. I can't say much more, I wasn't happy.
"It was just him and he made that decision. He wasn't happy, I can't tell you more. He wasn't very happy, I was very calm.
"Those were difficult months. This is football. I've never wanted to do anything wrong, it's the past and I want to think about the present."
Here are some images of Aubameyang in training with the Spanish giants this week:
Aubameyang also revealed in an Instagram post that the fact that he left Arsenal without a proper farewell hurt.
"I have always been 100% focused and committed on doing everything I can for this club which is why leaving without a real goodbye hurts – but that is football," he wrote.
Aubameyang's contract at the Camp Nou comes with an option to terminate at the end of next season, in June 2023, while his buyout clause is set at €100 million (R1.7 billion).
