Attacked by Arteta

Depression, alcohol: ex-captain talks about his time at Arsenal

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (right) had a difficult time at Arsenal towards the end.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Professional footballer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has spoken openly in an interview about the worst time of his career. "I'm sure I was depressed. I started drinking a lot," the 34-year-old Gabonese player recalls of his time at Premier League club Arsenal.

Aubameyang moved from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal in 2018. There, he initially scored as reliably as he had previously in Germany and even became captain. However, things turned sour for the striker at the end of 2021: because he returned late from his winter vacation, he was dropped from the squad by coach Mikael Arteta and lost the captain's armband.

According to Aubameyang, he had permission from the coach to visit his sick mother in France, but then returned to London a day late. When he returned to Arsenal, Arteta completely lost it.

"The coach grabbed me"
"The coach finished his meeting, grabbed me and went off on me. He shouted at me like I was crazy and said: 'You stabbed me in the back. You can't do that to me in the times we're going through,'" Aubameyang said in an interview with the French YouTube channel "Colinterview - Oh My Goal".

He was "sure that I was depressed", shortly before he was sacked by Arsenal, he had started drinking a lot. "It was a difficult time," said Aubameyang, whose contract with Arsenal was terminated a few weeks after the scandal with Arteta. The poor state of health of his parents at the time had taken its toll on him, "I think my poor health also had something to do with it," said the 34-year-old.

Aubameyang now plays for Olympique Marseille in the French Ligue 1.