‘Embarrassing’: BBC pundit thinks ‘woeful’ £12m man Arsenal let go may never play for his club again
Arsenal old-boy time at Chelsea has been disastrous, and that hit a whole new low last night in their defeat to Manchester City.
After a short stint at Barcelona, Chelsea signed the Gabon star last summer for £12 million (Standard). Thomas Tuchel was the driving force behind the deal, but he was sacked soon after, and Aubameyang has been in a very difficult situation since.
BBC pundit Chris Sutton had a real go at him last night.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang branded ’embarrassing’ and ‘hopeless’
Just under a year ago, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta pushed Aubameyang out of the door. The 33-year-old fell out with Arteta for disciplinary reasons and the Gunners boss made it clear he didn’t want him in his side anymore.
Aubameyang’s contract was terminated and he was released by the Gunners.
The Gabon star ruffled a few feathers when he joined Chelsea in the summer, and much to many Arsenal fans’ delight, his time there has been awful. What happened last night just summed up his whole Blues career.
Aubameyang came on as a substitute early in the game after Raheem Sterling suffered an injury. Under an hour of underwhelming football later, he was taken off, and Sutton branded his performance as ‘hopeless’.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live after the full-time whistle, the pundit said, as quoted by The Daily Mail: “I thought Aubameyang was hopeless in truth, offered very little. The Aubameyang substitution is really telling, it’s embarrassing. He’s been hauled off and rightly so.”
He further said, as quoted by BBC Sport: “Aubameyang looked like he didn’t want to be here this evening. I wonder whether Graham Potter is thinking, how can I play Aubameyang again in a Chelsea jersey after how woeful he was.
“I’m always wary to criticise players for lack of effort or poor body language but Aubameyang absolutely epitomised that – I thought he was woeful and hopeless and didn’t give anywhere near enough. He looked disinterested and I suspect Graham Potter will be thinking, blimey, he is never going to play in a Chelsea jersey again under me.”
Our View:
Arteta received a ton of stick for his decision on Aubameyang last year, but it’s safe to say now that he got it absolutely spot on.
Yes, Arsenal missed out on the Champions League in the end because of a lack of firepower in attack, but there’s absolutely no guarantee that the Chelsea number nine would’ve taken them over the line.
When Aubameyang had his purple patch at Barcelona, many who weren’t associated with Arsenal pointed the finger at Arteta. Some even called for the Spaniard to be sacked.
However, it’s now evident for everyone to see that the Gabon star is well past his best and is nothing like the player he once was.
