Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dropped by Arsenal for disciplinary issues

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dropped to the bench for Arsenal’s north London derby clash with Tottenham. The Gunners skipper was expected to lead the line for the hosts at the Emirates Stadium so his absence from the starting XI came as a huge surprise.

Manager Mikel Arteta refused to be drawn on the exact reason that his captain was left on the bench.

“He was going to start the game but we had a disciplinary issue,” the Spaniard said. “We have drawn the line and we move on.

“Obviously we keep that internally. We have our process that we have to respect every game and that’s it.”

When pressed on if the decision was a blow, Arteta added: “We’ve got other players that we’re playing.

“We’ve had to change the team quite a lot recently. There are players that are willing to play and deserve the chance.”

Arsenal icon Freddie Ljungberg told Sky Sports: “It’s a weird one. It upsets your team a little bit.

“Listening (to Arteta), the only thing l can think of is that he has been late or something because he is still on the bench. So it can’t be that bad.

“But of course it upsets the players. He’s Arsenal’s top man. He’s the one you look for and if he gets one vs one against the defender, you know he can score quite easily.

“It’s not good for Arsenal and it must be something big to leave him out.”

“Every time I played with him I’ve always had so much confidence,” Saka told beIN Sports.

“Sometimes he would tell you, you would have to pass to him and if you make a mistake then he can be quite angry.

“But the game where I scored my first goal for Arsenal against Frankfurt, before the game he said to me, ‘Bukayo, you know you’re very good player. If you’re there in front of goal and you want to shoot – shoot! I’m not going to say anything’.

“My parents love him so much as well!”