Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reveals why he will 'never say sorry' to Mikel Arteta over Arsenal fallout | OneFootball

The former Gunners captain departed in 2022 on less than pleasant terms

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has lifted the lid on his fallout with Mikel Arteta and revealed the Arsenal manager said he had stabbed him in the back.

The pair clashed in December 2021 when Aubameyang returned late from a sanctioned trip to his unwell mother in France.

“My mistake,” Aubameyang told the Athletic. “I should have come back the night before, but I arrived in the morning. I didn’t tell them that I would miss the flight because I was preoccupied with my mum’s stuff (medical examinations).

“I went directly to a team meeting. Everything was normal. After that, he (Arteta) said: ‘Come with me’. This is where he started shouting. He said I could not do this because I was the captain and it was not acceptable.

“He said I gave him a knife in his back; I don’t know why he said that. I was really p**sed off because it was not true and he knew why I flew.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang clashed with Mikel Arteta prior to his Arsenal exit.

REUTERS

“He knew the reason and what was happening, he knew I was struggling that year. I was expecting help from him, not killing me like this.

“When I’m late, (and) it’s my fault — no problem. I always said sorry. But in this case, I’ll never say sorry.

“For taking my mum from Laval to London? No. Even if I came a day late, I would never say sorry. You understand or you don’t. If not, don’t give a day off or tell people they cannot fly.”

The incident was the second time Aubameyang and Arteta had clashed, with the pair doing so in March 2021.

On that occasion, Aubameyang was late for a team meeting ahead of the north London derby.

“You leave the car at the stadium, then take the bus to the hotel,” said Aubameyang.

Happier times: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice to help Arsenal and Mikel Arteta lift the FA Cup in 2020.

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“I didn’t miss the bus, they were waiting for me. There was a (traffic) accident near my home; maybe I should have set off earlier, but you don’t know what will happen. He was p***ed off as it’s a big game.

“When we got to the hotel, he called me to his room and said I wasn’t going to play. He was strict. The rules are the rules. I felt hurt. I had tears because I wanted to play that game, badly. I didn’t want to hurt anybody.

“The next day we had a meeting and I stood up in front of everyone to say sorry. He also came to my house to speak, because he didn’t want this to be chaos. I said: ‘It’s going to be OK’. But from then it was not the same.”