Arteta Defends Decision To Let Go Of Aubameyang

Arteta stripped Aubameyang of the Arsenal captaincy in December following a disciplinary breach, and the Gabon international did not play for the club again before joining Barcelona at the end of the January transfer window.

At his unveiling at the Camp Nou, Aubameyang laid the blame for his exit at the feet of Arteta but the Spaniard has rebuffed the words of his former skipper.

Asked about those comments ahead of Thursday's trip to Wolves, Arteta said: "It's his opinion. That's his opinion, that is what he said and you have to respect that.

"I am grateful for what Auba has done at the club and his contribution since I have been here. The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution, not the problem."

"I think it ended up in the best possible way for everybody. I think when things change, and the context changes and this is part of football.

"And what we did yesterday or a month ago is not relevant, it's about what we do today and what we are going to do in the future. You have to make decisions. We all made the decision that the best thing was to move on and now he plays for Barca.

"We had different meetings and the decision was taken collectively between the player, the club and agent."

Aubameyang scored 92 goals in 162 appearances for Arsenal.